


Read/Write

by EuphorianDystopia



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alex is adorably innocent, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Anger Management, F/F, F/M, Fanfiction, Green hair, Homophobic character (But only briefly), In the Heights References, John can cook really well, John is an entrepreneur, Like literally fanfiction coping mechanisms, M/M, Reader/Writer, closet characters, google translated french, slow burn (I hope)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-12
Updated: 2017-02-21
Packaged: 2018-08-30 13:32:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 18
Words: 19,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8535100
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EuphorianDystopia/pseuds/EuphorianDystopia
Summary: Alexander loves to write. When he falls in love with his best friend he tries to write his way out because he can't bring himself to admit his feelings. He creates a fanfiction writing under the screen name LAMS.John is a closet gay and his guilty pleasure is fanfiction. One day he stumbles across a writer called LAMS and becomes addicted to the story because the protagonists remind him of himself and his best friend.





	1. Sleepless

**Author's Note:**

> So I don't know how this is going to go. But I really want the idea to happen so it's happening
> 
> Talk to me though! Let me know if you're interested in this continuing
> 
> Apologies for the tiny crazy short chapter I just wanted to establish the relationship of the reader and writer between Ham and Laurens in all their adorableness so I could get into the zone for when I really start this fic properly

It was eight in the morning which meant it was fanfiction time. John had found a new In the heights fanfiction to read last night with an explicit 18+ rating and he couldn't wait to start. Eight was always fanfiction time because his roommate never went to sleep until at least three A.M. and Alexander needed seven hours sleep. He made his way to the computer still in his pyjamas only to see Alex at it, typing furiously. John frowned as he saw six mugs on the desk and three more on the floor next to his friend,

"What's wrong Lex?" He whispered and Alex visibly jumped.

"Nothing John. Go back to bed" Alex whispered.

"Alex it's eight in the morning." John sighed, picking up all the mugs and taking them to the kitchen sink before walking back over to his friend and placing his hands on Alex's shoulders looking down at the screen. Alex quickly killed the webpage he was on which appeared to be a forum. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair and in the reflection of the screen John notices how red Alex's eyes were. He spun the swivel chair to face him and knelt down in front of Hamilton. "Alex what's wrong? You've been crying." He sighed. Alex just shook his head, forcing a weak smile onto his face.

"Calm down my eyes are just sore from not having any sleep since ten yesterday." Alex shrugged it off, hugging John when he realised the boy looked so unconvinced. "Thanks for worrying about me though."

"Come on then, let's get you to bed." John sighed and Alex got up, stumbling a little,

"No way I'm fine" he said "Just need a coffee and I'll be fine" He smiled. Making his way to the kitchen. Laurens wasn't going to force him because he knew he couldn't. There was no arguing with Alex because Alex didn't give up. John went to sit on the couch with his laptop plugged in and watched Alex make a coffee and bring it to the couch, set it on the coffee table and sit down next to him. Within only moments of Alex curling up in the comfortable seat and leaning up against John, he was asleep. John laughed and reached for the coffee Alex had made feeling rather glad that Alex had his the same way as John.

With his adorable friend cuddled into his side John decided maybe 18+ wasn't appropriate. It could wait. He decided to read Harry Potter instead and whilst technically it was a fluff Drarry fanfiction, he could pass it off more easily as Harry Potter if Alex caught him because Alex had never read the series.

 

 


	2. Hard hitting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sit tight, this chapter is gonna be a little dark and I apologise for that but it's crucial to the story

Alex woke around lunchtime and not by choice, John didn’t want him to get into a bad sleeping pattern so he'd shaken him gently and mumbled his name until Alex stirred. The freckled boy was working on an assignment and Alex was still cuddled into his side. Had John stayed still for four hours? Alex uncurled and John shut his assignment off. They both stood up, John to prepare lunch and Alex to use the bathroom because nine cups of coffee will do that to a person. They sat down to ham, cheese and cucumber sandwiches on fresh bread that John had baked the night prior.

“Which assignment was that?” Alex mumbled, pouring himself a glass of orange juice.

“It’s an essay analysing Much ado about Nothing” John mumbled.

“Is it going well?”

“It’s essentially much ado about nothing in the literal sense Alex, I’ve written a lot about shit all” John mumbled. Alexander laughed. “This unit sucks, I thought we’d just be ranting about how amazing Iago is as a villain… Or how stupid Romeo and Juliet are.”

“And what are you doing then?”

“Listening to a bunch of stuffy snobs discuss the codes of one production and what it _means_.”

“What does it mean?” Alex laughed, John was getting so frustrated about this unit and it was cute to see him so worked up. Alex smiled thoughtfully, _maybe if you weren't too shy to speak up in class John..._

“Fucked if I know.” John grumbled and returned to his sandwich.

 *

The next day John took his work into university and Alexander stayed home, opting to continue what had kept him up the previous day. He logged back onto the forum where his question was written at the top:

**‘My girlfriend has dumped me after two years of being together because I wasn’t interested in having Sex.**

_It’s not like I don’t love her… I really do. It’s not like I don’t like sex. I just don’t really care for the idea of sex with her. What the hell is wrong with me?_ ’

Alex scrolled through the forum, reading the replies to his question. Grumbling at the trolls saying she was “Probably fucking ugly but has an okay personality” and “Couldn’t you have just done it to shut her up? Pussy.” Alex then found probably the worst of all: “Who the fuck won’t screw if a girl is begging? Mate are you gay? What’s wrong with you is everything.” Followed by a lot of “Yeah, OP probably prefers cock.”

Well that was enough of that Alex decided and logged off. First of all he was not gay, he had nothing against gays and even helped the University organise rallies since he was on student council. Secondly what was wrong with not feeling like sex? Thirdly, what was wrong with being gay? Alex felt his blood boil a bit and took a deep breath to calm himself down. Resting his head in his hands with a sigh. _What was wrong with him?_

John came home around two that afternoon and went straight to his room. Right past Alex without a hello and without even looking at him. That frightened Alex and he quickly ran after his friend. Tapping on the door to John’s bedroom.

“Laurens? Laurens what’s wrong?” He asked, gulping as he tried to open the door only to find it locked “Come on John, unlock this door.”

“If I wanted you in here I’d have left it unlocked” John grumbled from inside, Alex knew he had a point but Alex didn't like that point.

“If you’re upset I want to be in there. I can’t help from out here.”

“I’m fine.” Alex groaned and reached into the potted plant next to John’s door, pulling out two wires that he hid there for emergency situations. John liked locking himself in when things weren’t going well and Alex knew he didn’t always handle his emotions in the smartest way. Alex was terrified John would do something stupid one day and Alex wouldn’t be able to save him. He picked the lock, re-hid the wires and stepped in to the dark room realising John hadn’t bothered with the lights. “Alex get out!” He said quietly and breathily like he couldn't talk any louder, Alex could tell he was fighting tears. He sighed and walked over to John who was sitting on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands. As Alex knelt down, John flinched away “I’m fine Lexi.” He grumbled.

Alex sighed and pulled John to his feet, there were no protests as he was led down to the lounge room and sat on the couch. That’s when Alex noticed that John’s neck looked really red. He made John sit up and pulled his hands from his face to see his friend’s cheeks tear stained and an unmistakable shape of a hand bright red on his neck. Alex felt his stomach twist and went through the emotions; curiosity, shock, fear, upset, helplessness, Anger.

“Who the fuck did this to you? What happened?” He asked furiously, standing and looking down at John, whose head just fell back into his hands. John sighed, he’d known as soon as he walked in that Alex would be mad.

“I don’t know, some dude.” John whispered. Alex sighed and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

“What happened exactly?” He asked, trying for John’s sake to stay calm as he made his way to the kitchen to get a first aid kit. Rummaging through the draws.

“I stopped to look at your Pride rally posters… You did such a great job Alex they look awesome. S-Some guy noticed me look and made the assumption and…” John trembled in his seat, it hurt to talk so he wasn’t speaking loudly. “Sh-shoved m-me against th-th-the... the wall h-holding me b-b-by the throat a-and hit me a f-few times. He called me e-every single slur he c-could think of.” He said quietly, tears in his eyes that wouldn’t stop falling.

There was a loud thump from the kitchen and John winced. Standing slowly and shakily. He made his way in and found Alex, looking ready to murder someone. Bruises already covering his hand as well as blood and splinters of wood. John looked at the hole in the cupboard door and sighed, pulling Alex into a hug. Alex hugged back mumbling apologies to John over and over. Alex had decided it was his fault John stopped to look at the poster in the first place. They both ended up on the floor, curled up in each other’s arms sobbing until they couldn’t anymore.

They stayed there for a few hours before deciding silently that they needed to get John’s neck and Alex’s hand fixed up. Alex called a home doctor to come over and fix up the damages as John googled how much a new cupboard door would cost. Once the doctor left, they sat on the couch with soup (so that John could actually eat and even that hurt to swallow). Alex put on the television and they curled up together and watched whatever was on, slowly falling asleep in each other’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting lighter in the next chapter, promise!


	3. Amoureux

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've put French translations in the end notes to save people who do not speak the language (like myself) the effort of looking them up. Also for the people who do speak the language which I have probably just butchered completely, I'm so very sorry.

Alexander didn’t know what sparked the thought in his head but once it was there it wasn’t leaving him alone.

That was a lie. He knew exactly what had sparked the thought and what was fuelling it.

The thought: He was falling for John Laurens.

What had sparked it: Hitting the cupboard had broken three of his fingers which meant he needed help with basic things. John had to help Alex button shirts and hands would occasionally graze Alex’s chest as they stood in such close proximity, Alex pretended not to notice.  John would wash his hair, leaning him against the bathroom sink and massaging his head better than any expert could. He rewrapped bandages for Alex, whispering to breathe when the bandage came off and Alex whined with the pain from the loss of the bandages support.

What was fuelling it:

 

\- The thought that left his head that he’d happily punch the wall or cupboard again if it meant keeping John safe. It was haunting to know that for every imaginable scenario he came up with, he wouldn’t hesitate to take John’s place and get hurt instead.

\- John’s beautiful laugh when someone told a Joke.

\- His freckles framed by his long curls on early mornings before he tied it back.

\- Hearing John sing in the kitchen every evening as he baked something new.

Alex had it bad for John to say the least and the more he tried to figure it out the farther he fell.

*

“To Gil’s house?” John confirmed from the kitchen, Alex ran his good hand through his hair. It was curly and free, not held back tightly the way he would usually let it sit. John had done it and Alex had allowed him to style it as he pleased.

“Yes. He’s asked me to help him get his English right on his C.V.”

“Do you need a lift there?” John asked, wiping his hands on a tea towel and walking out to the lounge where Alexander was sitting. Hamilton smiled and shook his head gently.

“It’s fine, the train station is right near his house and it’ll be a nice walk.”

“If it’s dark when you finish up, call me and I’ll pick you up.” John said softly but firmly enough that Alex knew it was non-negotiable. “I don’t want you walking through the streets at night, Gils house isn’t in the best neighbourhood.” He mumbled as he made his way back into the kitchen to keep baking, Alex smiled softly at the concern lacing John’s voice.

“Anything else mother?” Alex teased, walking over and hugging John from behind, watching him mix a green batter. “What’cha making?”

“You’re not leaving the house in those tracksuit pants, they need a wash. It’s Pandan cake.” John laughed as he worked, leaning into the hug. Alex held his breath a bit as the laugh and movement all at once felt a little overwhelming. “Haven’t heard from Eliza in a while Lexi, how’s she going, is she well?”

“Well I presume so.” Alex shrugged, thinking about how formal John sounded whenever he brought Eliza up. “We broke up.” He mumbled, John let out a small gasp, turning his attention away from the cake immediately to hug Alex properly.

“Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” He whispered into Alex’s hair and Alex’s breath hitched, John thought it was because he was getting upset. Alex hugged back almost timidly and sighed.

“It’s fine John, I’m okay.” Alex whispered into his chest.

“When did it happen?”

“A week ago.”

“And you’re only telling me this now?” John grumbled and shook his head, Alex shrugged, knowing what he was thinking instantly. _Alex when are you going to realise other people are here for you?_

“I swear I’m fine, she’s fine too… better off without me.” He admitted without any malice or contempt in his voice.

“If you’re so fine why are you hugging me so tight?” John teased, clearly understanding that his friend was okay.

“I like your hugs.” He shrugged.

*

“Bonsoir Alexander, bienvenue come in.” Lafayette smiled softly, Hamilton gave him a hug and stepped past him.

“Whose car is that out front?” Alex asked, glancing behind him, Lafayette smiled.

“Mine.” A voice called from the next room, Alex walked in and looked at the mass of curls visible from the back of the sofa.

“Hello Jefferson.” He said bluntly.

“Hamilton.” Thomas replied, Lafayette laughed.

“No arguments en ma maison.” He warned them, Alex smiled and hugged him.

“Wouldn’t dream of it Gil. Can’t speak for Thomas though.” He said softly to stir Thomas up, it worked.

“Are you fucking kidding me Hamilton?” He grumbled and stood up, Alexander laughed and walked over to hug him. The two of them were on the debating team together at university and loved setting topics to practice for upcoming competitions in their free time.

“They haven’t kicked you out for yesterday have they?” Alex asked nervously as he broke the hug and looked up at his friend.

“No, they are mad though.”

“If you get kicked, I’ll leave too. It was so stupid that they’re even mad about it.”

“Qu'est-ce qui est arrivé?” Lafayette asked softly.

“A practice debate, the topic was on gay marriage and I refused to argue that it shouldn’t be legal.” Thomas huffed, “There shouldn’t be a debate about it, should have been legal centuries ago.” Jefferson grumbled and Alex agreed, zoning out as Lafayette and Jefferson discussed it. He found himself looking at his feet thinking about John. John who was probably playing the soundtrack for some musical and dancing around the house waiting for green cake to finish baking. He was stirred from his thoughts by Jefferson letting out a loud string of profanities with wide eyes.

“The hell man?” He asked, amused.

“I just realised the time, I gotta get home!” He groaned, saying goodbyes quickly and leaving within the minute. A silence fell over the house after that but was broken fairly quickly by Lafayette laughing. Hamilton looked at him in confusion wondering what he’d missed.

“He always loses track of time” Lafayette explained, “I don’t think he’s ever left the house without shouting every curse in the English language.” He told him and Alex laughed too.

“Do you even know all our English swears?” He teased, plonking himself down on the couch, Lafayette joined him.

“J'ai pensé ainsi… Until I met Thomas.” He admitted seemingly a little shocked as he recalled how many _more_ words Thomas alone had taught the Frenchman.

The two worked through Lafayette’s resume for a few hours and when they were done, Alex called John to pick him up and Lafayette invited John in for tea. While they were waiting for him to arrive, Alex finally spoke up.

“Je crois que je suis amoureux de John.” He whispered. Lafayette looked a little shocked.

“Qu’en est-il d’Eliza?”

“Broke up with me.” Alex said. They sat in silence for a moment.

“Alexander I will support whatever you decide. John is a lovely man.”

“Thanks Gil.” Alex smiled and hugged him carefully.

“And I promise not to tell another soul.” He said and two minutes later there was a knock at the door. “Il est déverrouillé!” Lafayette called. Alex heard the door open and soon John joined them in the room and Alex stood to put the kettle on. Once tea was made they squished up on the couch, John’s arm around Alex’s shoulder causing Lafayette to almost laugh out loud. Now that he knew how Alexander felt, the signs were easy to spot. John may not have seen the blush on Alexander’s cheeks but it did not go unnoticed by his French companion.

Eventually they said their goodbyes (and Adieu’s) and drove home. John helped Alex button up his pyjama shirt and they sat down to cake.

“I thought it was a green batter, its gone brown?” Alex noticed. John smiled and cut a slice, placing it on a plate and handing it to his friend. It was indeed bright green inside and Alex seemed incredibly impressed.

“Is that green enough for you Alexander?” He mocked a bit as Alex took a small bite and smiled happily.

“Since when is green so delicious?” He asked.

“Since I’m the one who cooked it.” John smirked.

"Damn Laurens, you could make Brussel sprouts taste good."

"I _do_ make them taste good Alex, we eat them all the time."

"I know."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> French translations as they are intended (So you don’t have to look them up!) I hope they're all alright now. Thanks to user JohnLaurensInATurtleOnesie for the corrections (Hope I corrected them right!) .  
> Bienvenue (Welcome)  
> En ma maison (In my house)  
> Qu'est-ce qui est arrivé (What Happened?)  
> J'ai pensé ainsi (I thought so)  
> Je crois que je suis amoureux de John (I think I am in love with John)  
> Qu'en est-il d'Eliza (What about Eliza?)  
> Il est déverrouillé (It’s unlocked)


	4. No Me Diga

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was heavily parodying the song No Me Diga from In The Heights. I wanted Maria and Peggy to be hairdressers but then I couldn't NOT think of Daniela and Carla. So this was a lot of fun to write!
> 
> Also I feel I should mention that when writing this I'm basing appearances on the Hamilton cast rather than on the historical figures. That being said I'm giving Hamilton green-brown eyes because reasons. Like the "Yeah they're brown but if you look closer there's so much green in them actually" kind of colour

“So Theodosia walks in the room and all she can smell is sex and like... Plums or something sweet. It's like almost a syrup smell. Not something Aaron would smell like.” Maria smiles as she works on a customer’s hair.

"No way?" Peggy gasps, wiping down the benches as she listens in.

“It's true! So she sneaks 'round the back, not wanting to be seen. The bedroom window is open so she looks in, He’s in bed with James Madison!”

“Oh my god!” Peggy’s voice shrieks and she collapses in a fit of giggles as the shop door opens and a bell on top of it chimes as Alex steps into the room.

“Hello gorgeous Peggy.” He says, "Beautiful Maria."

“Alexander!” Peggy responds, Alex laughed as Peggy sat him down in one of the mirror facing chairs.

“He returns!” Maria laughed and greeted Alex as well.

Alexander was being subjected to one of Peggy’s many hair experiments, which consisted of an emerald wash-out hair dye on the bottom half layers of his hair. They chatted as she got to work.

“Come on Maria, what else do you have for us today?” Peggy laughed as she set to work and watched the only other person in the room pay for their hair and walk out. Now it was just the trio.

“Well you didn’t hear it from me!” Maria smirked, “But some little birdy told me that Lafayette is sleeping with Marie Adrienne.” She smiled, Peggy froze and Alex watched her carefully.

“No way, she’s a skank. Tell me you’re joking Marie?”

“Alright. Just wanted to see what you’d say!” Maria laughed and Alex did too, watching Peggy’s face go bright red. Peggy groaned as Alex hummed teasingly, looking up to her expectantly. _Come on Peggy just confess._

“What? I don’t care.” Peggy huffed and focused all her attention on his hair. Tugging a bit as punishment.

“Sure thing love.” He smiled softly.

“Now Alex, I hear you get protective with Laurens.” Maria smirked. Looking at Alex's bandaged hand.

“Yeah? What do you know?”

“I know plenty.” She smirked, “Your hand is broken and he’s doing everything for you.”

“Not everything.”

“Everything that requires a right hand?” Maria smirked. Alex went bright red.

“Huh?” Peggy asked in confusion, not following the conversation. She was still trying to ignore how easily Maria had managed to get her flustered just by bringing up Lafayette's name.

“Peggy! He’s helping him zip his jeans…” She said, purposefully leaving out whether it was zipping up or unzipping.

“Oh Alex, you poor thing.” Peggy misunderstood, thinking Alex was embarrassed at his lack of independence. Maria laughed,

“Far from it.” She said and watched Alex mouth ‘I wish.’

“Alex seriously is your hand okay I’ve been worried all week. Is John able to speak again?” Peggy asked to distract herself.

“God, I hope John likes the green.” Maria smiled

“We’re fine, promise.” Alex sighed as Peggy finished what she was doing. Now it was just a matter of waiting for the colour to stain the hair. “And he will, it’s his favourite colour.” He smiled

“Favourite colour? That’s curious.” She smiled, “Coffee?” Maria asked, both Alex and Peggy nodded.

They sat around in the small salon on their spinning chairs, not expecting any other customers. Peggy was spinning around in boredom.

“So I was reading this really amazing fanfic the other day.” Maria chimed, Peggy stopped her chair and sat up straighter clearly interested. Alex sat back and shut his eyes, _let the girls talk. Listen for once._

“What was the ship?”

“It was another In the Heights one.” Maria mused, “Daniela and Carla, Vanessa and Nina.”

“You and your In The Heights fanfiction I swear to God…” Peggy laughed.

“You read it too!”

“I read Nina and Benny!” Peggy protested, "Canon ship!"

“Ah yes, Benny. The ‘I don’t fit in to this community because I’m from a different culture but my boss has an adorable daughter teaching me the language and so I’m going to fuck her at sunrise.” Maria said calmly. Alex smirked and opened his eyes, mouthing ‘Laf?’ to Maria who nodded gently. "And I'm like 90% Sure Daniela and Carla are canon! The writer just ran out of time to specify that."

“What exactly _is_ fanfiction?” Alex asked softly, the two girls both gasped.

“Alex you need an internetducation!” Peggy practically shrieked. Maria nearly dropped her coffee as she ran to get her laptop which was currently playing Beyonce. She paused the song and disconnected it from the speakers before rushing back over.

“Lesson 1. Shipping.” Peggy begun. Maria helped explain everything and Alex seemed a little concerned that they could speak for as long as they managed to on how people were paired up.

“And remember, if you insult someone else’s ship and they kill you, it’s your fault.” Maria concluded sternly.

“Lesson 2. Which websites to use.” They continued like this for a while, teaching him all about rating systems, genres, tagging and original characters. By the time they got through most of it he was getting into the idea a little more, he was really curious.

“So who writes this stuff?” He asked, loving the idea that unpublished writers could practice, hone their skills and receive feedback. What a brilliant medium!

“Anyone who has a story they want to tell, or generally anyone with pent up sexual tension, anyone who knows a pairing and thinks a story should be told. Anyone at all really. If you can think of it, it’s probably been done.”

“Batman and Superman?”

“Very popular.”

“Um… Crash Bandicoot and Nina Cortex?” He asked, trying to trip them up

“Yep.”

“Rapunzel and Merida.”

“Oh I’ve read a lot of that.” Maria smirked fondly.

“Hitler and Stalin.”

“Actually, yes.” Peggy chimed awkwardly

“Oh my god, what about kids shows? Surely there’s no Spongebob and Patrick, right?”

“And Mr Krabs, and Squidward and the biggest under the sea kink since the Little Mermaid and Sebastian.” Maria said flatly, Alex hid his face in his hands.

“I think you’ve just ruined my childhood…” He groaned. The girls laughed,

“So we need to break your fanfiction virginity today so let’s find a pairing you like and we’ll find a short fanfic about them.” Maria smiled, ready to type. Alex sighed and thought very hard about it

“Jack and Sally. He finally said, “Nightmare before Christmas.” The girls nodded and found one. Peggy washed out Alex’s hair and blow dried it as he read the story, grumbling about bad grammar, clicking on a different one instead. He really liked it. It was so… Free to interpret. He clicked another and Maria laughed.

“Well at least he likes it.” She said, then recommended all the best fanfiction she knew. By the time Peggy was finished with Alex’s hair, Maria had created a list for him.

“Damn Lexi I’d get that colour permanent if I were you." Peggy grinned. He nodded thoughtfully, it did look good. The green showed through the curls randomly but most of his hair still looked a respectable brown. Peggy could braid his hair or put it in piggy-tails and it’d look good, she was a genius really. She took photos and played around with it happily. “It suits you.”

“You don’t say…” He noted with a grin.

"Matches your eyes!” Maria said, her tone suggesting there was a reason that green hair matching his green eyes was important. He thanked them unaware of her meaning and paid Peggy full price despite her protesting ‘mate’s rates’ and then walked out humming.

“What have we done?” Peggy gulped, Maria laughed.

“We’ve created the next Shakespeare of smut hopefully.” She grinned,

“I hope he does end up writing.” Peggy mumbled as she cleaned up

 _I hope John finds his work if he does._ Maria smirked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know exactly where I'm going with this for the next two chapters, yay!


	5. Green Eyes and Ham(ilton)

When Alexander walked in the door he made his way straight to the kitchen which smelled of biscuit dough. “Smells amazing.” He greeted his friend. John spun around and looked at him, his breath hitched at the sight. Alexander’s hair was a beautiful shade of green and brown, almost exactly the same as his eyes. Even better though was the way Peggy had styled the soft curls, John just wanted to run his hands through them.

“Looks amazing.” He complimented, walking over and playing with a strand of Alex’s hair, “Love the colour, it matches your eyes.” He smiled, they both blushed a little and he moved away.

“Thanks. I really like it.” Alexander agreed

“Is it permanent?” John asked

“It’s a washout but I’m thinking I’ll get it permanent once it does wash out.”

“I like it, really brings out the green in your eyes a lot.” John nodded

“Yeah. That’s what Maria said.” He smiled, “Are those my favourites?” He asked gently, looking at the oven.

“If you mean ‘Hey John are those Raspberry and White chocolate biscuits?’ Then yes, they are indeed.” He grinned. “And that’s only the first batch!” He grinned. Alexander hugged him.

“Anyone ever told you just how amazing you are?” He asked. John blushed in his arms and shrugged as he in turn held onto Hamilton.

“Probably. But it doesn’t hurt to hear it again.” He teased him. “So did Maria have any decent gossip for you?” John asked. Alexander laughed.

“Does she ever not?”

“Well spill!”

“Oh god, you’re just as bad as she is!” He groaned, John just laughed, “Okay so you’ve got Theodosia walking in on Aaron in bed with James Madison…” Alex begun as he broke the hug, John laughed and nodded,

“Poor Theo, she deserves better than that anyway.” John smiled, Alex agreed with him.

“And then Maria says to Pegs and I ‘Someone told me that Lafayette is sleeping with Marie Adrienne.’ Oh my God John….” Alex said laughing loudly, “Peggy went whiter than a ghost! She was so pale and she even put a hand on my chair to steady herself!” John looked a little concerned,

“Poor girl, Is Laf really sleeping with Marie?” He asked, Alex shook his head.

“Peggy got defensive real quick, said he’d never do that because she was a skank. She goes ‘Please tell me you’re joking!’ To Maria and Maria just laughs and nods, she goes ‘Just wanted to see what you’d say.’ And then Peggy was bright red, pretending it didn’t bother her, that she didn’t care… Oh god she’s in so deep.”

“That girl’s got it bad.” John smiled, “We need to hook those two up.”

“Yeah…”

“Oh by the way, we have plans tomorrow Lexi, unless you already have plans?”

“I’m free to do whatever.” Alex said calmly and eyed John curiously, “What plans?”

“Well, we’re having a movie marathon.” John grinned. “That’s why I gotta make all this food, we’re gonna need it all!” He beamed.

“Okay, sounds great. What movies? Have you picked yet or?” Alex looked up at him, trailing off

“I’ve picked the movies. I’m introducing you to Harry freaking Potter. We’re watching all the films and then the Starkid musical!” John smiled brightly and watched Alex grin and nod, “Also a lot of youtube stuff… Potter Puppet Pals, a bunch of parodies… That kind of thing.” He grinned

“Okay John.” Alex smiled, he’d never bothered with Harry Potter before, not out of disinterest but rather just out of laziness and prior incapability. When he was younger he didn’t have a television, or enough money to see movies like other kids. So he’d missed the hype of growing up with it but John loved it a lot and so he knew it had to be good.

“You have an entire childhood universe of wizardry to catch up on and we’re gonna get it right! First of all you’re doing a house quiz… So your answers can’t be biased. I’m guessing Gryffindor or Slytherin? Because you're really stupidly reckless...” John rambled happily as he continued baking and Alexander listened happily, not understanding a word of it.

Eventually he left John to his cooking and went upstairs, deciding to look into this ‘fanfiction’ stuff. He went through Maria’s entire list and read every single story in the next three hours plus more that he found himself. He was a really fast reader and even the long ones didn’t take so long. Sometimes he’d be laughing, sometimes crying, sometimes questioning Maria’s taste. Overall he enjoyed it.

He decided to make an account on one particular website that seemed to be the best from the lot, he used the username LAMS. Deciding it stood for Laurens And Myself Someday. Then he opened up a word document and started writing a silly story about Shakespeare meeting Dr Seuss. Not a romance or any genre really, it was what he’d come to know as a ‘drabble.’

All there was to it was a conversation between the two writers. Seuss spoke about Shakespeare’s legacy and how inspired he was by him, Shakespeare thanked him and read over his works, they left with high opinions of each other to work on a story together. A simple children’s book in Iambic pentameter and a play which they called ‘Seussical.’ He decided to post it with the title “Green Eggs and Hamlet.”

It was just a simple piece of 2564 words just to test the waters, explore the medium. He struggled with tagging his work and read about three different forums to understand and then it was published. He looked back over it and smiled. It was an amazing feeling to see that something he worked on was able to be shared publically, critiqued and hopefully enjoyed. Damn. Now he understood why Maria and Peggy were so interested in it. He wondered if they ever wrote anything but concluded that they didn’t really seem the type. He didn’t even consider that whilst he was writing innocent stories, they were reading far from innocent smut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realised, people might have a different definition of biscuit. So if you prefer the word 'cookie' use that!


	6. Potter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't edited this yet because I desperately want to get it out tonight. So I'll edit tomorrow!
> 
> Enjoy lovelies!

On the coffee table in front of them was enough food to feed a small family. John and Alex knew it would probably last them the day.

Fruit pre-dipped in chocolate and chilled, the raspberry and white chocolate biscuits, crackers and an arrangement of cheese, three packets of chips (original, chives and honey barbeque) and two bottles of soft drink. The coffee was currently brewing and lunch (a bread bowl with a cheesy seafood filling) was already in the oven. As Alex finished making the coffee, John grabbed blankets and pillows and set up the first film.

They had woken up at 6 in the morning just to start in time. Knowing they wouldn’t finish until two the next morning.

 

_Sorting hat:_

They sat down with John’s laptop and Alex went through a quiz, mumbling under his breath as he answered each question and submitted it.

“The hell is a Slytherin?”

“I knew it!”

“My house colour matches my hair.”

“And your eyes.”

 

_First year, 6:15am:_

Alex and John sat on opposite ends of the couch, the chocolate covered fruit made for a nice breakfast.

He wanted to sit closer to John,

“Aww John they’re all really little. Oh blondie is feisty.”

“Draco?”

“Huh?”

“Hey did you eat the last raspberry?”

“Yeah. Since you ate the last blueberry”

“You don’t even like rasberries...”

“Yes I do. Watch the film.”

“I am.” Alex grumbled, he was _trying_ at least. It wasn’t that Harry Potter wasn’t interesting, it’s just that John was more interesting. _But if you watch Harry Potter you’ll have more excuses to talk to John later. Idiot._

All the fruit was gone by the end of the film and Alex was studying everything happening in the films intently

 

_Second year, 8:49am:_

They’d shuffled closer together. Alex had put it down to not being able to reach food on John’s side from where he was. To continue to justify that reasoning he kept reaching over John for the cheese and crackers. Eventually John moved them into the middle for him. Alex didn’t move away.

“Fuck that’s scary.”

“Calm down it’s just Hermione.”

“She’s a _cat_ John! A cat human thing!”

“Voldemort doesn’t scare you and yet she does.”

“Yup.”

“Shit Alex where did all the cheese go?”

“In my stomach.”

 

_Third year 11:31am:_

The cheesy seafood bake was done and John placed it on the table between them. They sat close to each other and bumped heads a few times as they reached to break off bread or dip it in seafood.

“I bet it’s a huge misunderstanding.”

“What?”

“This Sirius guy… He’s not a bad guy is he? Everyone keeps warning Harry but… If he were the big dangerous killer then Voldemort wouldn’t be. Unless he dies? Maybe both.” Alex mused. John just stared at him in shock, letting out a small gasp which resulted in him choking on a bit of fish. “Look he’s either gonna die or become a friend because there won’t be two big villains. I recon Harry’ll find out and then Sirius will die.”

“Any other big ideas Sherlock?” He grumbled, washing down the fish with a glass of soft drink.

“Draco is in love with Harry.” Alex shrugged. John nearly spat the whole thing out. He took a moment to swallow before staring incredulously.

“I thought you were straight?” John asked.

“Doesn’t mean they are.” Alex shrugged softly, John just laughed.

“Where’d you get that idea from anyway?” He asked and Alex hummed thoughtfully

“Scared Potter?” He finally concluded.

 

_Fourth year 1:54pm:_

Alex ended up leaning in to John and John wrapped one arm around his shoulder gently. The seafood bread bowl was almost finished so they started dipping chips into the remaining seafood, when that was gone they opened up the next packet of chips.

“Are you enjoying this Alexander?”

“Yeah…” Alex said softly and John gulped, Alex realised John probably misconstrued his meaning so he grinned, “yes I like them a lot.” He concluded, sounding a little more assured in his words. He felt John relax behind him.

“This one is my favourite.”

“Why is it that everyone likes Gryffindor so much? They’re not that great…”

“Jealous Lexi?”

“No.” Alex grumbled

“No?”

“Maybe a little. What house are you in John?”

“Ravenclaw.”

“Is that David Tennant?”

“Yes Alex.”

“I loved watching him in Much ado about Nothing with you.”

“He was brilliant in it. Wasn’t he?”

“When are Hermione and Ron gonna just fucking hook up?”

 

_Fifth year 4:33pm:_

They’d stopped eating for now. Alex was cuddled into John’s side and the older boy had secured his arms around him. Alex kept his hair around his face so John wouldn’t see the blush

“Oh my god she’s a bitch.”

“A bitch with no redeeming qualities.” John confirmed.

“Not true.”

“Are you fucking kidding me Alexander?” John gasped

“Well she likes tea… A-And she’s really motivated. Even if it is for the wrong reasons. I admire her drive.”

“I’m gonna pretend you didn’t just say that…”

“Told you he’d die.”

“Oh my God Alexander!”

 

_Sixth year 6:42pm:_

Alex had his head in John’s lap and was giggling about the television being sideways. John ran his fingers through the man’s soft curls happily.

“ _Seriously,_ when are Hermione and Ron going to figure it out and make out?”

“Sherlock Holmes back on the case.” John groaned

“And when is Draco going to shove Harry up a wall and pour his heart out through passionate sex from years of built up tension?”

“Oh. My. God. Alexander…” John blushed brightly.

“What? I know it’s going to happen.”

“No it’s not.”

“Ohh Draco isn’t well, he’s in a bathroom. Kinky.” Alex hummed, “Oh and there’s Harry.”

“Alex…” John whined.

“What the fuck? They didn’t get together John! This is the worst movie yet!”

“No they don’t ever get together.”

“Are you kidding? There’s so much sexual tension.”

“Well I mean, there’s stuff online of them getting together… If you want it you can find it.”

“Fanfiction right?”

“How’d you know about fanfiction?”

“Maria and Peggy.”

“Oh God they’ve ruined another innocent human being.” John groaned

 

_Seventh year 9:17pm:_

Alex was practically on John’s lap as his friend held the biscuits away from his reach with ease.

“Come on John you’ve got to be kidding me! Give me a biscuit!” Alex groaned. It wasn’t until he finally crawled onto John’s lap that John ‘gave up.’

Alex didn’t make any attempt to move off.

“This one’s really dark…”

“Mhmm.”

 

_Seventh year Part two 11:45pm:_

John had his arms around Alex who was comfortably sitting in his lap. Halfway through the movie they ended up both lying down, John spooning Alex.

“Why the fuck did Harry get rid of all that shit? He’s an idiot John!”

“What would you have done?”

“Used the resurrection stone to help all the families who’ve just lost their parents or children… Given the elder wand to McGonagall.” Alex huffed

“Actually… The wand with McGonagall would be incredible.” John smiled, “One day, you need to write a book.”

“One day.”

 

_Finished: 1:57am_

Neither of them moved. They fell asleep there in each other’s arms happily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took so long to write because I went through each movie and figured out how long it would run for and put a few minutes here and there in between. Now y'all know what kind of time frame is needed for a Potter marathon. You're welcome


	7. Innocence and Distraction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please read the notes at the bottom!!

John woke first and looked down to see a mass of loose curls. Alex curled into his body like John would disappear if he moved an inch. He smiled at the smaller man and ran a hand through his hair, admiring the green. He wondered if Alex had chosen the colour or whether it had been Peggy’s idea. His phone was next to him so he decided to ask, creating a group chat with Peggy and Maria

_John Laurens set Peggy Schuyler’s name to ‘Carla’_

_John Laurens set Maria Lewis’ name to ‘Daniela’_

**Daniela:** No Me Diga.

 **Carla:** if we’re Dani and Carla, that makes you… Usnavi

 **John Laurens:** I’m more of a Benny kinda guy, Alex is more of an Usnavi

 **Carla:** No way. Alex is totally Nina or like… Sonny

_Maria Lewis set Peggy Schuyler’s name to ‘Piccolo’_

_Peggy Schuyler set Maria Lewis’ name to ‘Red rider in da hood’_

_Peggy Schuyler set John Lauren’s name to ‘J-Lau’_

**J-Lau:** Whose idea was the green hair anyway?

 **Piccolo:** As far as I know, Alex chose it himself. Maria however may have… Steered him in that direction. D’you like it?

 **J-Lau:** You know the answer to that. Why is Maria called that?

 **Red rider in da hood:** He was going through about three different colours and made a comment to himself about the green being your favourite. I just told him it was a great shade to go with his natural colour.

 **Piccolo:** And then she made it seem like the other colours weren’t as interesting.

 **Piccolo:** And told him it matched his eyes

 **Red rider in da hood:** But he made the decision himself

 **J-Lau:** You’re a bitch. I’m trying NOT to stare, you’re not helping.

 **Red rider in da hood:** Just fuck him already and be done with it.

 **Piccolo:** Maria isn’t Alex too innocent for sex?

 **J-Lau:** Very funny, Go fuck yourselves :P

 **Red rider in da hood:** Why would I when some pretty little lady could do the work for me?

 **Piccolo:** TMI

 **J-Lau:** No me diga.

 **J-Lau:** Can’t believe you guys told him what fanfiction is

 **Red rider in da hood:** It’s a good thing to know about.

 **J-Lau:** You’ve just singlehandedly destroyed his innocence, I hope you’re happy.

 **Piccolo:** Yeah right, he’ll probably read a few fluff stories and get bored. Alex reading smut is never gonna happen!

 **J-Lau:** He’s bound to stumble across it Peggy!

 **Red rider in da hood:** We could always tell him your username, then at least you’d be the one destroying his innocence.

 **J-Lau:** Don’t. You. Fucking. Dare.

 

He heard Alex stir and quickly turned his phone off.

“Morning.” Alex grumbled, uncurling from John’s arms.

“Good morning.” John replied gently letting go of his friend. Alex sat up and yawned.

“You’d think that couch’d be uncomfortable.” Alex mumbled, “But I haven’t slept that well in ages.” He smiled

“I have to agree.” John grinned, though he decided it wasn't the couch that helped him sleep. They got up and went about their morning routine, John making breakfast and the two of them eating on the couch. “Do you have any plans for today?” He asked through a mouthful of mushrooms.

“Nah, I’m just gonna get some work done… Maybe write a bit, Catch up on my reading.” Alex shrugged, not noticing the way John tensed and nearly choked on his food.

“What are you reading?” He strained to say, Alex blushed a bit,

“Just a Disney fan theory…” He lied quickly. “But I was thinking maybe I should read the Harry Potter series now too.”

“You and your Disney…” John whispered, “You’re so sweet, never change.” He said and Alex found a blush creeping up his cheeks, he wasn’t sure whether it was due to John complimenting him and not wanting him to change because he liked Alex even if he was innocent or due to the fact that John always treated him like he was so pure and delicate.

Despite Alex being nearly twenty, he was remarkably innocent which was probably due to his intense focus and dedication to school work and his friends. Sex wasn’t something that came up much so he hadn’t bothered considering it. “Well I need to head to Daniela and Carla’s salon.” John smiled, Alex laughed.

“So I’m not the only one who thinks of them like that!” Alex said brightly.

*

John had wrapped Alex's hand in fresh bandages and soon left for the salon and Alex went upstairs to his room. Logging onto his computer he noticed his story had reached 2000 views and he had eight messages in his inbox. He checked them quickly and smiled at the amazing feedback he’d received. Then he went to look up Harry Potter, remembering that John had said there was a fanfiction where Draco and Harry ended up together instead. He didn’t realise John meant that there were over 16000 stories.

He filtered them by most popular and begun reading one, becoming invested in the story. He hadn’t seen the ‘explicit’ rating that it had been given and suddenly he was bright red. Eyes wide and vision blurring. He took a deep breath as he reread over what had been written.

_Draco pinned Harry to the wall and kissed down his neck slowly, feeling the Gryffindor harden against him._

Alex exited from the story quickly. Deciding to double check before he started reading to make sure there wasn’t going to be smut. It wasn’t that he was embarrassed to read it, he just decided it wasn’t necessary.

Going down the list of ‘Drarry’ fanfiction, he found very few that weren’t explicit or mature in rating. Even some of the Teen ratings seemed too dirty for him. He felt ill, he felt weak, his stomach was twisting uncomfortably.

He decided to go offline and wander into John’s room, picking up the first Harry Potter book off his friend’s shelf and lounging on John’s bed to read it. As he sat down he slipped backward and used his free hand to catch himself. Letting out a cry of pain as his weight went into his broken hand.

*

“You guys did it on purpose!” John growled at the two girls, Eliza was there too and she sat in the corner of the room watching on in silence. “I can’t believe you two!”

“Come on John. He doesn’t care about sex.” Eliza grumbled, remembering why she'd broken up with him “Not all fanfiction is smut!”

“All the fanfiction I read is smut.” Maria shrugged, Peggy didn’t comment,

“Everything you read is smut.” Eliza grumbled

“And I read you like a book baby.” Maria teased, Eliza went bright red. Peggy groaned at the look on her sister’s face. The four all seemed to have a different impression of Alex, Eliza thought he was asexual, Maria was convinced he was pretending to be innocent and Peggy and John believed he was just innocent. John's phone rung moments later

"Hey Alex?" He said, the girls all looked up "Alex! Lexi breathe, I'll be home in just a moment. Shh." He hung up and explained to the girls quickly before rushing home. He found the boy in his room in tears and his heart broke, he ran over to hold him and calm him and when he realised the pain wasn't easing, drove him to the hospital. They gave him some medication and a sling to stop him from being able to move his hand anymore and sent them home.

John felt so helpless, wanting nothing more than to hold the younger boy, kiss his head and tell him everything would be fine. Kiss his lips, kiss away the pain. He didn't know Alex wanted the same thing or else he'd have done it. Instead he helped Alex set up his book in his lap on the couch so that he'd be able to read it one handed and then went away to make dinner.

He smiled fondly as he walked out with their plates and saw the way Alex was engrossed in the story. At least it was a good distraction from the pain. He had to call Alex three times to get his attention. He helped Alex bookmark his page and Alex joined him to eat, rambling about all the questions he’d come up with to ask John about the book. John answered each question with ease, glad to keep Alex distracted from the pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Awww Alex thinks he's not innocent, he thinks that tiny part of the passage he read was smut.
> 
> Can you imagine if he'd read on? Poor possum. 
> 
> I need opinions guys! Alex is going to eventually write about him and John and I can't pick a pairing for them that he'd match to the two of them. Here's what I have
> 
> Alex: Aladdin, Usnavi, Sherlock, Frodo, Tiana (Genderswap), Sonny  
> John: Jasmine, Benny, John, Samwise, Belle (Genderswap), Pete  
> If you like any of them, or can think of any that are better, please let me know!!  
> I kinda figured Alex would go for something Disney-ish or musical theatre ish but then I honestly don't know. I like the Sherlock/John thing but I don't think Alex is cocky enough to relate himself to Sherlock not in this rp at least. I'm not convinced  
> I think Tiana and Belle both fit their characters but do people ship that? And genderswapped?  
> Usnavi and Benny or Sonny and Pete would fit well but they seem like the easy way out. I'm not sure why.  
> Guys help


	8. Loco Parentis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I've been MIA for the past few days. Life caught up with me and I had to get ahead again! 
> 
> I've figured out what ship Alex is going to be writing, I don't think you'll see it coming because I didn't mention it  
> But it's perfect  
> and daring  
> and oh my God Alex seriously  
> But that isn't this chapter
> 
> Also yay for successful John

John had to go into work the next day for a television interview and scolded Alex for daring to go in as well. “I’m the boss Alex and as far as I'm concerned… You can’t work with a broken hand.”

John was an entrepreneur. He’d started up a café two years ago when he was nineteen called Loco Parentis (At Herc’s suggestion when a teen had come in and said “this food always makes me feel a little less homesick.”). They were a steady company but now renowned as ‘the best coffee in New York’ and ‘most accommodating staff.’ John had started the company with a winning lottery ticket and had been clever to locate his first store between a university and residential college. He hired Laf, Herc, Angelica and Alex to help run the store and with that came fluency to take orders in French, German, Russian, Spanish, Mandarin and Japanese. Depending on who was working at the time, flags would hang in the shop window as a sign of which languages workers would be able to understand that day. They even had an Indian and a Polish flag for the rare occasions when Peggy or Eliza worked in the shop. (John didn’t hire them but let them work a day here and there if money was tight) With the success of the store John had been nominated as Youth of the Year, hence the television interview.

So instead of working Alex read Harry Potter. By the end of the day Alex had finished all seven books but he kept them with him anyway so that when John asked, he could pretend he was still getting through them.

The truth was that he’d been determined to go back and revisit the fanfiction that he’d been reading. After finishing the books and becoming convinced that Draco was in love with Harry, he’d been determined to read about it. He’d brave the smut if it meant reading his favourite couple actually getting the ending he felt they deserved.

He struggled through the foreplay for a while before skipping over the sex entirely once the couple were actually undressed, he read some of the dialogue during and continued with the story. When that was finished he read another one in the same fashion, skipping over the smut and becoming invested in the story. This continued for the rest of the day. Eventually he found himself skimming the sex scenes, not interested in reading them but desensitised enough to glance at the words without feeling awkward.

“Alexander!” John called from downstairs as he got home from work, tugging his apron off. Alex shut his laptop and made his way downstairs as John pushed a clear plastic cup from a container of four into his good hand

“How was your interview? What’s this one?”

“Dirty Chai with apple.” John grinned, taking a sip from his own takeout coffee container. "It went well, yeah. Nothing I didn't expect and it's good publicity." Alex took a sip and gasped,

“John it’s awesome! It’ll be perfect for summer.” He grinned and John nodded, looking at him expectantly, Alex always had a say in naming the drinks, “How about spiced apple shot?” He asked. John hummed thoughtfully then handed Alex the second takeout cup. Alex smiled and took a sip

“Mango Rooibos?” He asked, John nodded gently,

“It needs something extra.” He told Alex, who nodded in agreement.

“Use the rooibos as a liquid base and freeze mango like ice cubes and make it like a smoothie. Oh and add some honey?” Alex suggested. John beamed and made a note on his phone. “Call it Red Bee.” John smiled at the name and added that to his notes before handing him the next one.

“Careful this one is hot.” John said softly, watching his friend sip at it

“It tastes like a normal moch- is that mint?” Alex gasped

“Mint Mocha.” John confirmed

“I like that name.” Alex grinned and pulled the one John was drinking from his hands, taking a sip of that.

“Ahh, the Cheshire cat. Did you get me one?” He asked softly, “If not I’m stealing yours.” He grinned and John pointed to the fourth container. Cheshire cat was a sweet Jasmine milk tea with blueberry and it was the favourite of both boys as well as John’s most photographed drink (It was a pastel lilac blue with white swirls and a sprinkling of fresh jasmine flowers on top. It looked like something out of a fantasy world and with different options for milk used in it, it was the most instagrammed drink in all of the US). Alex handed John’s back and the two finished off John’s experimental drinks together. John reheated some lamb vindaloo that he’d brought home from work and they had that with their Cheshire cat’s for dinner.

“Have you been online today?” Alex hummed as he ate,

“No, what’s happened?”

“They’re drawing fanart of Loco now…” Alex giggled, "This publicity we're getting has been so great John."

“What? No way! People only draw fandoms fanart... We're real people”

“Well now Loco Parentis is a fandom category on Tumblr and it's trending on twitter too.” Alex grinned and handed John his phone “Check my screenshots.” John did.

_Forget the stars, the boss of @LocoParentis has more attractive freckles. #LiteralAngel #MarryMe_

As John read it out, he went bright red. The comment was accompanied by a picture of John grinning and knelt down in front of a little girl as he handed her a babychino. It had a filter over it making the whole café seem brighter.

The next one was a photo of the selfie John had framed on one of the walls which showed Himself with Alex, Herc, Laf and the Schuyler sisters. He and Alex had hold of the ladder with a scared looking Herc on top reaching down as Lafayette and Angelica handed the Chandelier up to him. Eliza was laughing as she held the tool kit and Peggy was the one taking the photo.

_Of course the food is pretty. I’ve never been into a restaurant that is literally the definition of #Aesthetic before. @LocoParentis #AngelicaIsBae_

The next one was a drawing of Hercules with a pink umbrella.

_That Herc guy is literally #realLifeSexyHagrid. He’s tough and strong and sexy but he’s the biggest softy._

Then a video of Lafayette singing along to Sympathique by Pink Martini which played over the speakers John had set up. It was a screenshot but John had been there at the time and knew exactly what Laf had been doing

_The French guy at @LocoParentis has the voice of an angel. An angel that I’d like to destroy the innocence of. #MonAmour_

John looked up and stared at Alex in shock. Alex grinned a bit and took the phone back.

“Where’s all the ones saying how sexy that barista with a broken hand is?” He asked Alex with a smirk and watched as Alex blushed.

“Too scared to ask how my hand got broken in the first place in case I talk their ear off probably.” Alex shrugged. He hadn’t seen any about him but John now had his phone out and quickly found one.

“The barista Alex is the most passionate person I’ve ever had the pleasure to speak to. I could listen to him ramble all day. He’s always so polite.” John read out. It was accompanied by an adorable drawing of Alex handing a coffee mug over the counter but the mug was full of compliments. John saved the picture then kept scrolling. Screenshotting some favourites of his own

_The way Hercules speaks German is adorable. It isn’t perfect but it’s functional and his mistakes are so cute. #Hercules4Hogwarts @LocoParentis_

_I think Lafayette’s way of dancing with the trays of food is my favourite thing in the world_

_Someone needs to make this café into a movie #LocoParentisFilm #CaféFam_

_Angelica is one of those people who you look at and think ‘yo they should be a model’ and then you realise they’re way too smart and incredible to just use looks to get by_

_Generally I don’t go for short guys but something Alexander does just WORKS. #AlexLocoParentis #CuteBean_

_They’re all beans. Coffee beans #SmolCoffeeBean #TolCoffeeBean_

_Alex calling John 'mr boss man dude' is cute, Angelica using it is terrifying._ John reposted that one. Within moments he had about 300 messages buzzing that ' _Oh my god John just agreed that Alex is cute._ ' and ' _Yo nah, he's probably just terrified of Angelica'._

John was glad business was booming but he was scared that it might get too big. He was terrified that people set the standard too high for him, he didn't want to let anyone down.


	9. Interview

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When the real world meets AU Fiction!  
> Bc Anthony Ramos is a beautiful, beautiful bean
> 
> Also I want to apologise, I was MIA for a few days and I'm usually a more regular uploader  
> Life got in the way bad and I'm trying to stay afloat right now  
> I promise I'm okay but it's taking a toll on my writing and I'm doing my best to fight it. Just sometimes to no avail.  
> Please be patient with me. <3
> 
> Sorry this is unedited, I'm exhausted

They watched John’s interview together the next night. John with Alex in his lap on the couch and a plate of blueberry and chocolate biscuits in front of them that they were picking at

_“It seems like a trend at the moment to write movies about successful people, what do you think they’d call a movie about you?”_

_“Probably disappointing, worst film I’ve ever seen not even worth 1 star out of 5.” John joked, “No in all seriousness it’d have to be called Loco Parentis, right?”_

_“And who would you get to play you? What about your friends at the shop?”_

_“Well there’s this really great rap artist called Daveed Diggs. He’d be my first pick for Lafayette.” John smiled thoughtfully. “I’d get Anthony Ramos to play me, he’s my favourite theatre star ever. I recon the only way this would ever be a film is if it were a musical because Loco is always full of noise, it’s music to me.” John grinned. The interviewer smiled and nodded, “How about Angelica and Alexander? Who could play Hercules?” John laughed_

_“Herc should be played by the Rock and well Angelica and Alexander are forces all of their own. I don’t know if anyone could quite capture the sass of Angelica unless Beyonce played the role.” John went quiet as he thought. “Alexander is like the best kind of hurricane. He’s a whirlwind of energy and passion, something that can’t be confined to an act. Alex would have to play himself.”_

Alex looked up at John. “If that’s a compliment-“

“It is.” John laughed and hugged his friend tightly,

“Well thanks.” Alex blushed, “Laf won’t ever let me live that down.” As he said it his phone buzzed with a message from Lafayette himself

**LaFuckerEtte (1 Unread Message)**

Monsieur Ouragan! J’aime ça!“ _Sent at 8:23pm_

Alexander groaned and showed John the message, he just laughed.

_“- is amazing how that happened. How does it feel being nominated for Youth of the Year?”_

_“Like I’m going to wake up any moment and realise it’s all just a dream.” John responded, “I was just lucky to win the lotto once and I put what I won to good use.”_

_“Is it true you have the lottery ticket framed?”_

_“Well I ended up with exactly 96,000 after taxes and that’s the most important number to win as a theatre nerd so yeah… It’s one of my most prized possessions.”_

_“It was a lot more than the lottery that got you to this point though wasn’t it?”_

_“Well yes, I have a great team.”_

_“And great products.” The man added, “Your Company is far more than yourself and your team. Tell us a bit about how it was set up.”_

_“I just… Wanted to make food that made people happy. I love inventing drinks, I mean Alex and I spend the time when the café is quiet trying to out-strange each other with combinations of flavours in drinks. I mean it helped to hire my friends even if a few of them thought I was crazy for spending lottery on something that didn’t exist yet. I think we all wanted to make the best experience for people. Laf helped a girl out a lot when she struggled to order off me in English so we added a flag at the door to tell people we could take orders in French. We ended up realising that if we were going to use one language, we might as well use the other ones we knew and now that’s a huge selling point to our customers.”_

_“It’s really incredible how many languages you guys do speak among the five of you.”_

_“Some of us better than others but we learn café terms in different languages sometimes even if we don’t learn anything else. I mean, if you asked Herc what he did for fun in Russian he wouldn’t understand at all but if the topic is about the café, he’ll understand.”_

_“What languages do you know?”_

_“French, Spanish and Japanese.” John smiled softly, “All fluently. I’m learning café conversation in Cantonese at the moment with Alexander though.”_

_“And how do English customers feel walking into your store?”_

_“So many of them come in to help learn languages and most of our customers are happy to help out. It’s very communal.” John grinned, “Just the other day this little Japanese girl got lost and came into our shop, a woman managed to understand what she was saying just from what she’d heard from other Japanese people in our shop. We ended up finding her mother and giving the woman a free coffee to thank her for her help.” John grinned._

_“That sounds absolutely wonderful. It must be a remarkable sight to see.”_

_“It’s a whole range of sound that just makes the environment so inviting.”_

_“Is there any culture clashes?”_

_“Luckily none that we can’t sort. The environment is a safe space and rather than clashing, they are combining and we’re producing Latin inspired Japanese foods and Russian inspired German drinks and it’s just… Everyone understands that everyone is equal here.”_

_“Well you heard it first here ladies and gents…”_

“I’m so proud of you John.” Alex beamed, “You’ve done so well, you deserve it all. Seriously life could not get better right now if it wanted to.” He said. John nodded

“I just hope it doesn’t get too much bigger. I need to be able to manage it.” He sighed.

“You will be, I’ll help you I promise.” Alex said. They eventually untangled and made their way off into their own respective bedrooms for the night. Alex decided to read more fanfiction. He’d become really invested in other couples now too; Johnlock, Ben and Usnavi, Sonny and Pete and more. He wrote short fanfics on occasion and they had plenty of views. His Johnlock story being the highest rated. He went on Instagram for the night and found a drawing of Dan and Phil with a quote under it, “Where there’s fanart, there’s fanfic.” – Dan Howell, 2016. He laughed at the thought _Damn straight there is. I’ve read it._ He thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo, no as far as I know Dan never said that.  
> It's just part of the story  
> Seems like something he'd say though


	10. Ma Chérie

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think the 'it's late I haven't edited it' is a given at this point  
> Sorry!

The very next day Alex was working on his Johnlock fanfiction, replying to messages streaming in and ignoring all the ones that asked why he had skipped the sex scene when he heard John on the phone.

“Mr Stewart did you say? Yes okay, pleasure to meet you. In Chicago? I hadn’t really thought about… Well I suppose I’d need to meet with you. I’ll need to think about it. Yes of course. I’ll let you know Seth. Thank you, goodbye.” He said, Alex watched him hang up, watched his hands tremble as he hit the red end button.

“Are you alright John?” Alex whispered, walking over and hugging him.

“There’s a man in Chicago who wants to open a store under the Loco Parentis name. He thinks I should start a chain of them… Said he’ll help me get set up there and staff it…”

“I think you should meet with him.”

“But I don’t know if I can be a manager of more than one place Lexi… I kinda like that this place is small and individual.” John whispered.

“I’ll help you and so will Angelica. She’s doing so well with her business degree that she’ll know what to do.”

“You think so?”

“John she’s had a job offer from Google for heaven’s sake.” Alex sighed.

“Okay… We’ll book flights after work today.”

“I’m coming in today.”

“Alexander no.”

“John yes. You don’t have to let me work but at least let me come in.”

“Fine Alex, you can sit at the till but if I see you try and carry anything or lift anything I will not let you back in for a month!”

“Yes Mr boss man dude sir.”

They both made their way to work and Alex put up the flags and worked at the till happily. Watching Hercules setting up something off to the side with Lafayette.

“What’s happening there Angie?” He whispered to the girl who was currently serving a Red Bee

“They’re making a stage would you believe? Customers begged John to get us performing, particularly Lafayette. So John got Herc to go down to the hardware store and grab some wood. It’s just going to be a box with fold under wheels or collapsible but it’ll be a stage enough to perform on. If we open for the night then we might even get local bands in.” Angelica smiled. Alexander laughed at the thought of his friend on stage. Singing as he worked was something Lafayette could handle but all eyes on him in the centre of a stage? Lafayette was bound to panic. Alex zoned out, only looking up as a bell chimed to signal a customer coming in. Not a customer.

“Peggy!” He called, it was followed by a crash and Herc screaming out in pain. Alex looked over to them and realised that Lafayette had dropped a piece of wood onto Herc’s foot upon hearing her name. Soon enough the whole group caught on to the fact that Peggy and Laf were in the same room and realised it was time to make their lives hell.

“Hey Pegs, can you help Laf with the stage for a tic? He knows what to do I just need to speak to John.” Hercules smirked. Wandering off to inform John of Peggy’s arrival. That was part one of their shenanigans. Get Peggy and Lafayette working together awkwardly on something neither was qualified to do. 

“Non, ma petit chou, like this.” Lafayette said, demonstrating. Peggy’s hands shook a bit as she tried to follow and he couldn’t help but place his own over hers to steady them. He justified that it was so she wouldn’t get hurt and definitely not just because it was an excuse to hold her hand.

“Did he just call her-?” Alex laughed

“Yup.” Angelica smirked before letting out a playful sigh. “Even though it seems a shame to tear the two apart, we really need Herc working on the stage for safety reasons… What else can we make them do?”

“Hey Laf! Peggy! I need you both out back!” John called as Herc went back out to work on the pile of wood. “Alexander!” John called out a moment later and the three made their way into the kitchen to John.

“Yes Mr boss man dude sir guy?” Alex said calmly.

“Peggy I need some cups from out in the storage closet. I’d get Laf to get them because he knows where they are but I think he’s too big to reach them. It's a bit of a squeeze in there.” John said simply. “So Laf will show you where they are and if you could bring back forty exactly… That’d be great.”

“Why can’t Alexander do it?” Laf grumbled, “That room is too small and claustrophobic for two people.”

“Because Alex’s hand is broken and I don’t want him carrying anything or doing anything that could even possibly require a second hand.” John snapped in his no-nonsense boss voice. Peggy took Lafayette’s hand as reassurance and so Lafayette led her away.

“You called for me too John?” Alex asked with a grin.

“Go shut the door behind them and make sure it gets 'jammed' shut.” John said softly watching Alex pull a face like he was trying to process what John had asked him to do. They both knew the storage closet was fairly sound proof and far enough away that they wouldn’t be ‘found’ for a while.

“That’s cruel.”

“Alexand-“

“I love it.” Alex smirked. He made his way out and he could hear shuffling inside the small room. He peeked in before shutting the door so that it jammed. Something he’d done before with Angelica and Eliza when the two were arguing. Peggy shrieked at the sound of it shutting and Laf quickly had hold of her protectively.

“It’s okay ma chérie, just the wind shutting the door.” He said calmly, making his way over and trying to open it in the dim light before groaning, “c'est coincé.” He whispered

“Huh?”

“Stuck.” Lafayette translated

“Oh…” Peggy felt herself panic. Lafayette quickly held her again.

“Shh, it’s okay chérie.” He whispered, reminding her to breathe. She nodded and they breathed in unison until she was calm and then they tried to sit down. There wasn’t much room and Peggy ended up in Lafayette’s lap. He kept running a soothing hand through her curls whether she needed it or not. She didn't complain. “We shall be out of here in…” He frowned as he thought of the words, she watched his face carefully to see if she could understand what he was trying to say. “No time! Breathe aimé and everything will be alright.”

Peggy eventually started to doze in the dim light and Lafayette thinking she was asleep, kissed her forehead. He panicked when he felt her tense in his arms and look up at him.

“Ma chérie, apologies! I thought you were asleep.” He said softly.

“So you kissed me?” Peggy mumbled, eyes glazing over as she tried to process what that meant.

“Oui.” He sighed in defeat, it was all over for him so he may as well be honest. “I will never get the opportunity while you are awake.”

“And why is that?” Peggy frowned.

“Well… Would you want to kiss a face like this?” He grumbled, already self assured that no, she would not.

“Actually yes.” Peggy shrugged and leant up to kiss him, he met her halfway.

Everything was alright.

By the time Angelica ‘found’ them, the two had definitely figured a lot out. They walked back inside without the forty cups to find Eliza singing Zero to Hero whilst Hercules posed dramatically on a now finished stage, one customer was filming the whole thing. Alex was laughing and Peggy glanced into the kitchen only to see John staring at Alex like he was the most beautiful sight John had ever seen.

She took note.


	11. Robin and Seth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm garbage  
> I'm sorry

Angelica had made the weakest excuse possible not to come with John to Chicago, John hung up the phone and told Alex her reasoning and that she suggested Alex go instead. Alex knew it was a lie. Angelica had done it purely to give him time alone with John to be awkward. He didn’t say this of course because that would mean telling John that he didn’t want to spend time with him and John had actually bought her reasoning so he didn’t want to stress the poor man out any more.

They decided to book a full week there deciding they might as well make the trip worthwhile. John was packing whilst Alex wrote a list of things they couldn’t forget to bring with them and he was complaining about John’s decision to fold his underwear which Alex thought was entirely unnecessary.

"If you don't like the way I sort your clothes you could do it yourself Alex."

"Cant, you wont let me do anything with a broken hand." Alex grumbled

On the plane trip, Alex made John take some sleeping medication to calm his nerves and he fell asleep against Alexander who decided to keep working on his fanfictions which he could publish when they landed. He managed three chapters of his Drarry fic and two of his Johnlock fic before dinners were served and he opted for what he thought John would enjoy and a coffee. Alex ate the crackers and cheese provided and put the main meal (Mashed potato with chicken) on John’s fold out tray for when he woke up. He scrolled through his Instagram feed even though there was no wifi to refresh it.

_@LocoParentis your spiced apple shot gets me through every day!_

_The @LocoParentis team are so beautiful. I didn’t think it was possible to condense that much beautiful into such a small space_

_LAFAYETTE IS TAKEN? NOOOO!_

_LafxPeggy I SHIP THIS SO HARD_

Alex smiled as the Loco posts were interrupted by that Dan Howell quote again.

_Where there’s fanart, there’s fanfic_

He frowned as he looked through the amount of Loco fanart that filled his feed

Was there fanfiction about them?

He kept scrolling

_Loco Parentis is literally the definition of coffee shop AU_

Alex decided that was enough social media for one sitting. He woke John and made him eat and John thanked him before falling asleep again.

When they arrived, they were greeted by a man who was even shorter than Alex and who introduced himself as Robin. He drove them to their hotel, singing the whole way. (It was Disney and Alex and John would have sung along had they not been blown away at how incredible Robin’s voice was even when he switched to Spanish half way through a song.) Once their bags were away, they went back to the car and found Robin singing In the Heights and absolutely perfectly hitting the high notes in Breathe. Alex finally came to his senses enough to join in and then John did too. They ended up picking characters to sing 96000. (Alex begged for Usnavi and ended up as Carla, Robin wanted to play Vanessa and Sonny, John was happy to be Benny and sung Daniela’s parts too. Alex convinced him that he should sing Abuela Claudia’s one line as well since he had actually won that amount.)

“Yo, y’all need to audition for In the Heights as Dani and Carla, you killed it! I’d pay money to see it!” Robin beamed as the song ended, they picked up Seth who had been the one to phone John in the first place as No Me Diga came on and so since the other three already had parts, Seth sung as Nina. It wasn’t until they reached the empty shopfront that Seth wanted to buy for the store that the New Yorkers realised Seth and Robin had met when they played Pete and Sonny in their high school performance of In the Heights. John liked the store location since it was in a similar location to his own; between a university and a residential college. Robin then parked outside and they looked around inside. Seth spoke business with them and Alex listened as best he could knowing the panic he could see setting in for his taller friend would mean John would be struggling to focus. He was relieved when they finally headed back to their hotel, Seth suggested that they meet up the next day to meet the group they had in mind to hire. John didn’t sing on the drive home and Alex sung louder to make up for it. Not wanting to worry Robin or Seth because that would only freak John out more. They were too tired by the time they got back to the hotel to complain about the double bed they’d been given rather than two separate beds which they realised they hadn’t bothered asking for. Alex was actually fairly glad for it. He was able to cuddle into John and calm him down. He was able to run a gentle hand through his hair until he was asleep.

The next morning Alex woke the two up earlier than necessary. Once they were ready to go he sat John on the bed and faced him

“Alex?” John asked “What are you doing?”

“Reminding you to breathe.” Alex smiled softly, “Listen John, Seth is a great guy and ultimately the decision is yours. If you say no then they’ll understand. If you give them a provisional contract, they’ll understand that too. If you can’t make a decision right away… They will understand. We’re meeting people today and I need you to breathe, okay?”

“Alex it’s just so… Frightening.”

“I know but I’m here to help with that. You’re not facing this alone and yes it’s big but we both know that Seth will do the right thing by you. He has a very similar ethic to you.” Alex said calmly

“Just don’t… I…” John fumbled with his words, “You’ll be right by my side?”

“The whole time.”

“Thanks Alex.”

They made their way downstairs and Robin greeted them at the door. Seth was in the car animatedly singing to the radio. They all climbed in and Alex coaxed John to sing along to the Disney soundtrack playing. When they reached a nearby park and they got out and joined a group on a picnic mat. Seth introduced the group as the people he was interested in hiring.

He’d be the store manager, he could speak fluently in eight languages. He was terrible at cooking and coffee making but he was good on the till and loved serving. Robin was a brilliant barista and John discovered he spoke French as well as Spanish and English. Ariana spoke two languages and was a well-known local chef that John had actually met before. Chris and Pippa wanted to work as kitchen hands and servers. Chris spoke four languages and Pippa spoke five.

John and Alex were barely speaking English the entire time. They didn’t mind at all. The group was lovely, they all talked about what they were studying and where they wanted to go with their lives. Seth and Robin were engaged and both wanted to work on stage on the side. Ariana wanted to find a place that she could cook in and feel free to create if she wanted to, Chris hated his current desk job even though it payed ridiculously well and wanted to go part time on that so he could do this job which he enjoyed. Pippa was a translator but even though it paid well when she got work, she didn’t get it often enough.


	12. Ships

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo in case you hadn't made the connection by the way Alex talks about 'the fanfiction website' I'm using AO3 as the base model of this fictional site. Any ideas for a fanfic website name? I want to give this website it's name

Alex left the picnic feeling fairly confident in the group, John really liked them but he was still nervous about having a second chain. They got back to the hotel giggling about Pippa’s Madame Morrible impersonation. Seth convinced them to join him and Robin for dinner not on business, just as friends. Then they dropped them to the hotel and said they’d be back at six.

“What do you think Alex? In my position, what would you do?”

“I’d give them a chance. I’d tell them they could have our name, some of our more famous drink recipes and some of the favourite food ones and then I’d tell them that the rest was up to them, to give the store a Chicago flare and make Loco their own way. We can meet up with them every now and again once they’re set up and exchange recipes and ideas we want to adopt into our own restaurant, we can skype them with ideas in the meantime and I think it’ll grow well.”

“I think… I think you’re right.” John whispered, “I’m going to promote Angie to finance and business adviser if she’ll take it and we… We’ll get her to sort out the legal stuff and help me run it.” He said “Our Loco stays unique as long as theirs is created to be different.”

“Exactly. The name is a concept for a theatrical language café, we maintain a set menu across both restaurants, we maintain that language is a requirement, we maintain that music and equality are highly valued and individuality of stores is required so that no two store is the same.” Alex grinned “All we are giving them is the name and values. They will do what they want with it and whilst that has to be under your guidance, it’ll still be their own.” John nodded gently as he took on board what Alex was saying. Alex watched John’s shoulders relax, his eyes soften, his mouth turn up into a smile, he unclenched his hands and redid the bun in his hair.

“I think you’re right but I’ll ask Angie what she thinks… I’m gonna give her a run down.” He eventually said, pulling up his phone and smiling. Alex nodded. He had something of his own to figure out.

He logged on to his fanfiction website and searched up Loco Parentis.

Sure enough there was fanfiction. The _86 results_ at the top of the page stared him in the face. There wasn’t thousands but there was enough to be shocking. Some people had never even been to the store, they worked entirely off the videos that they’d seen.

And there were _ships_ there. He mouthed the words _Lafayette/Peggy, Hercules/Angelica_ over and over. Then he froze at the second fanfiction there.

_John/Alexander_

He stared in shock at the words, this could not be happening. People thought that he and John would be a good couple, not just a little but enough to write fanfiction about it?

A 30,000 word fanfiction?

With 9000 views?

With an explicit rating?

Alex felt light headed. Alex felt like the world had turned upside down. He felt remarkably uncomfortable knowing that the man he had fallen for was going to fall for him too in a story. It wasn’t real but it could be enough to ease the agony of not having the man in the real world. It could help him get by.

Real John may never love Alex in the same way, fanfiction John however? With him, maybe.

Alex felt a lot of things at that moment that John walked back into the room and he closed the browser he had opened.

He felt the heat rise to his cheeks as John complimented him and told him Angelica agreed.

He felt his stomach twist as he looked at the man who he could never have but who was probably screwing him senseless in the confines of a story online that thousands of people were reading.

He felt the worried gaze from John on his head as he stuttered through a response.

He felt like John was going to figure it out any moment now when John asked if Alex was okay.

 He felt a sense of relief when he successfully brushed it aside and John believed his excuse.

He felt his legs move as he stood up to change for dinner in a blur.

He felt John’s hands brush his chest and counted that it happened ten times as John buttoned his shirt up.

He felt more and more shy with every touch.

He felt like he didn’t deserve John’s kindness.

He felt the twang of pain in his hand as he tried to zip his pants up himself.

He felt the similar twang of guilt as John said he’d do it.

He felt like he couldn’t breathe for a moment as they stood in front of each other and John’s hands helped him fix his pants up.

He felt the need to hold his breath to save himself from gasping as John’s hand accidentally grazed over the front of his pants.

He felt like reading.

The dinner passed by in a blur of him being vaguely aware of where they were and what they were eating. He was smiling at how cute Seth and Robin were together, holding hands and giggling. He was wishing that he and John could be like that. _But that would require John to have feelings for Alex beyond friendship._  John sat next to him discussing a piece of artwork with Robin and both got swept up in the conversation. Alex spoke to Seth briefly but realised very quickly that Robin was definitely the voice of the couple. Seth was opinionated and happy to voice his opinions which Alex found himself agreeing with but he was remarkably shy aside from that.

He decided when they returned to the hotel that night that maybe fanfiction was better saved for a time when the real world protagonists weren’t sharing a bed in a different part of the country.

A better time where John’s soft snores wouldn’t add to the heat of the story.

A better time where if John woke up, he wouldn’t catch Alexander reading a story about him.

Maybe a less smutty story to start with too. After all, he didn’t read explicit stories.

He decided to wait to read. He brought himself back to reality and focused on the real John.

Real John was much better than any story could ever write him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep the comments and feedback coming! I love hearing from you guys so so very much.  
> Also I'm thinking of having an Ace Angie. I don't know much about it but I'm willing to try  
> Only if you guys aren't gonna hate my guts if I get it wrong
> 
> Lastly. They're in Chicago! Let me know some cool Chicago tourist things if you know of any! I've never been (hell, I've never even been to America, I'm in over my head here) and so I have no idea what it's like there
> 
> I want to do a tourist chapter in Chicago but for that I need to know what people do there
> 
> FEEDBACK!  
> PLEASE  
> LOVE YOU ALL FOR READING THIS  
>  _ESPECIALLY YOU_  
>  **YES YOU**  
>  THANK YOU!


	13. Chicago

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, this is essentially just Ham and Laurens being Lin trash

Alexander was the first to wake for their first day of adventures through Chicago. He went online and searched for directions so that he knew where they were going and saved a map of the city to his phone so that even if he lost reception they wouldn’t get lost in the unfamiliar place. He was dressed and back with breakfast before John even stirred. Eventually Alexander woke him and John had his breakfast in bed. Not much was said between the two and neither minded. While John had a shower Alex planned which way to go first.

By the time they finally left it was lunchtime and so Alex found a deli and they grabbed food on their way to Millennium Park. The two chatted about everything and anything, eating their wraps and fighting each other for the last chocolate biscuit (which they ended up halving and both being disappointed because it didn’t taste as good as John made biscuits.) They stood in awe at the sheer size of the BP Bridge before John raced up and Alex laughed and followed.

The two of them wandered aimlessly around the park, reading and admiring things. Alex pretended not to notice when John grabbed his hand to hurry him along. John pretended that he believed Alex’s “I’ve got shorter legs than you.” Was a legitimate excuse. They took photos together at a sculpture that they decided looked like a Jelly bean (Only to find out it was a rather famous sculpture called Cloudgate which Alex may or may not have spent an hour reading about when they sat down for a break.)

They wandered around aimlessly for a while until they reached PrivateBank Theatre. They half heartedly checked what was on and entered a tickets lottery since they didn’t really know the musicals currently running. They didn’t expect to win so they weren’t all that upset when they didn’t and decided they’d try again the next day just in case they did get lucky.

Instead they made their way to Navy Pier, reaching it just as it was lighting up for the night. They wandered through and explored, opting to go on the Ferris wheel once they felt they’d seen it all.

Alex decided not to tell John he was afraid of heights.

John noticed anyway and reached for his hand as the carriage they were in rocked and rose. He kept Alex focused on him and reminded him to breathe. Once at the top, the carriage stilled and John got a photo of the area around them as well as a Selfie with Alex (which was really difficult to do because they were on the opposite sides of the carriage and moving made the carriage rock which scared the shit out of the smaller man.)

When they eventually reached the ground John scolded Alex for not telling him and Alex just laughed,

“Well I knew you’d be able to calm me down enough to enjoy it and I wanted you to have fun!”

The two of them then heard a last call for the night boat tours.

“You don’t get seasick do you?” John asked, Alex shook his head. Next thing Alex registered was John’s hand in his and them running to get on the boat. They made it in time and found seats. Gasping in awe as the tour begun, listening intently and taking photos of their surroundings and of each other as well as plenty of selfies. A lady discreetly took a photo of the two while they were pointing things out to each other, huddled close together and grinning like idiots.

“Excuse me?” She asked carefully. They looked up at her, she showed them her phone

“I’m a photographer and well… You two looked so happy, it was the perfect shot…”

“It’s a great photo.” Alex agreed.

“I figured you may want more than just a selfie together. Would you like me to send it to you?”

“I would love that.” Alex said, the two of them got talking as they bluetoothed the files across and John turned away, opting to lean out over the edge of the boat and watch the water instead. She snapped a photo of that too and sent it to Alexander, neither had any idea how jealous John was of the stranger who made talking to his best friend look easy. She left when Alex caught on that something was wrong and went to join John. Alex apologised and John forgave him. A few minutes later Alex’s phone buzzed to signal someone wanted to share a file with him and he smiled and accepted as another photo of the two of them looking like a couple came through.

By the time the tour was done they were both extremely hungry and even more exhausted. They bought a cheap takeout meal and took it back to the hotel to eat before falling asleep without changing into pyjamas.

The next day they went to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. Neither of them really knew much about sports but they felt like this was what you were supposed to do in Chicago, so that’s what they did. Alex found John’s overtly sarcastic commentary on the game endearing and was paying far more attention to what John said than the game itself. Neither knew who won by the time they left.

They got a cab back to the theatre and entered the lottery again. Surprisingly they won and got their tickets. The show was a musical about the founding father Lin-Manuel Miranda. It was appropriately named Miranda. They took their seats and watched in awe as they learned more about their founding fathers. John deciding at the end of act 1 that Justin Laboy was by far the best of the founding fathers because he was being played by Anthony Ramos. Alex was trying not to be jealous of the celebrity crush John had on Anthony. He decided he preferred Daveed because the way the actor playing him rapped was incredible.

The two couldn’t shut up about the musical the whole way back to the hotel and ended up downloading the soundtrack that night. Then they played it all night until they went to bed. They woke up and put it on, they listened to it in the cab on the way to museums and art galleries. For the rest of the week they visited different galleries and listened to the soundtrack practically on repeat. By the time they were on the plane home they knew most of the songs by heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be real with me, how obvious is it that I've never been to America? xD
> 
> I looked up so many photos and websites for this chapter that it felt more like research than creative writing
> 
> But as long as you lot enjoy it, I'll be happy


	14. Top

They’d returned from Chicago on Thursday night and despite his protests that he had work he should be doing, John dragged Alex to the salon on Friday morning. John ended up buying Alex an iced coffee just to stop him whining about it, Alex curled up with it happily. So there he sat on his phone, tapping away as he wrote a new chapter for his Johnlock story as John gossiped with Maria and Peggy.

“It was one of the best I’ve ever read Maria!” John said. They'd been there for a while now but Alex hadn’t been paying attention prior. It was only because John had said ‘fanfic’ that now he was curious.

“Johnlock you said?” Maria asked as she picked up her scissors. Alex frowned, John read Johnlock too?

“Yeah. It’s amazing, I think it’s my favourite fanfiction ever now but it’s… I… I want the couple to get together and I don’t think they will.” He sighed

“Why not?”

“Well the story is called Unrequited.” John mumbled and Alex tensed a bit. _That’s what the story I’m writing is called._ He watched Maria cut John’s hair out of the corner of his eye and tried to ignore that she’d straightened it to do so. John with straight hair was the weirdest thought Alex could think of.

“I see.” Maria hummed, brushing out John’s hair. Alex was trying to pretend he was still working and not listening in.

“Is it really vain to say that this Sherlock's just… I relate to him in this? The way he’s written?” _Not if it’s my story, he was based off you John._ Alex thought.

“Depends on how he’s written dear John.” Maria smiled.

“I’ll read the description to you.” John said softly, pulling out his phone and opening it up,

"Awesome." Peggy said.

“Okay here. You ready?” John begun and Alex gulped, John had opened up the story so fast… Almost like it was bookmarked or saved.

"Yup, fire away." Maria smirked.

“My dearest friend Sherlock, A man like myself does not deserve to stand in your presence and yet you have done more than allow it. I do not know why a man as brilliant as you are would ever want a friend like me and I am forever grateful for it. You deserve a better friend though Sherlock and I am ashamed to say that I know I’m holding you back. You deserve a friend who won’t fall in love with you and make things harder. You deserve a friend with the courage to tell you how they feel rather than bottle up all their emotions only to release them onto the pages you’ll never see. My apologies dear Sherlock. Yours, John.”

Alex went stiff. That was his story but hearing it from John’s mouth made him realise _just how much he was projecting his own feelings into the character._

“It does sound a little vain to relate to Sherlock after that summary.” Peggy hummed, John sighed and nodded as Maria placed the scissors down.

“It’s not why I relate to him though… He’s like this big upstart whose career is building faster than he can manage and John is always there for him even though Sherlock doesn’t realise it… I don’t know how he couldn’t notice when it’s painfully obvious. I think I’d notice if my best friend was in love with me as obviously as John is with Sherlock.” He said. Maria and Peggy both cackled with laughter at the comment and Alex dropped his head back to his work. “What’s so funny?”

“Just that you think you could tell!” Peggy laughed loudly. John pouted, Maria spun his chair around to face her placing her hands on each armrest essentially pinning him there.

“Honey, you’re a great guy but you’re thick when it comes to people who like you.” She said gently. “You can read all the signs when it’s anyone else but as soon as someone is falling for you, you’re clueless.” She told him. Peggy agreed,

 “Angelica could buy you roses and you’d think it was just a gift exchange.” She said. Alexander looked up and smiled sweetly at the girls and a very frightened looking John. He reached for his iced coffee and gave John a sympathetic smile as he drunk.

“Lafayette could make out with you and you _still_ wouldn’t be able to take a hint.” Maria added.

“Hercules could blow you and you would still think he was just your friend.” Peggy continued.

“Alexander could fuck you and you’d still not realise he cared.” Maria smirked, John watched Alexander choke in front of him and drop his cup, his coffee went all over the floor. Peggy laughed loudly and so did Maria. “You’re cleaning that Hamilton!” She told him sternly. John was entranced by the shocked look on his friends face for a moment and possibly a little upset at the overreaction. _If you’re going to react Alexander, I’ll give you something to react to. At least it’ll mask my emotions if I direct the attention to you._

“Who said Alexander would be the one doing the fucking? If anything, I'd top." He said smugly, winking dramatically at his small friend who was now bright red and looked like he wanted the world to absorb him whole. That’s exactly what Alexander was thinking. Peggy and Maria were both laughing even more now. He was upset enough with Peggy and Maria but the fact that John had added to the joke made him feel ill. Did John know Alex liked him? Was he teasing because he didn’t feel the same way? No. That didn’t seem like something John would do, John was nice, caring, and sweet. He wouldn’t ever make fun of Alexander even if he didn’t feel the same.

_So then why did he extend the joke?_

What was worse was that Alex couldn’t stop thinking _he’s right. He’d be the one giving because there’s no way in the world that I would have the willpower to let him stop or even the strength to flip us if I did have the willpower._ He wondered for a long time why John would have even considered saying it. Briefly the thought presented itself in his mind that _he’s thought about it before_ but Alex’s wonderfully small self-esteem shut that thought down quicker than he could even give attention to it and ponder the possibility.

He shuffled to his feet and wiped the coffee off the floors, grumpy now about the waste of coffee. To make up for it all, John bought him a new one on the drive home and watched Alex mumble a thank you and curl up in the passenger seat next to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I said Alex would never do a Johnlock as a projection fic because in this fic he isn't cocky enough to compare himself to Sherlock  
> But as I was walking the other day I realised I had assumed that John would be John just because of their names
> 
> BUT IT TOTALLY WORKS IF JOHN (LAURENS) IS SHERLOCK  
> BECAUSE WATSON LITERALLY WRITES ABOUT HOW AMAZING HIS FRIEND IS LIKE ALEX DOES
> 
>  
> 
> Also this isn't even the _main ___fic he's working on yet  
>  Because the pairing I have lined up for Alexander to write about is just so perfectly fitting it's like how did I not notice this before?


	15. Intoxication

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone, I apologise for this taking so freaking long to do, I've been rushing around crossing things off a to do list which is like 10 pages long. So this chapter is here now and I'm going to try to write more in advance so that this doesn't happen again  
> this chapter would have been posted last night had the website not been down  
> It sucked, I don't know what to do without AO3. Wattpad and FF don't really cut it for me.
> 
> **HERE IS THE MAIN FIC HE'S WRITING. THIS CHAPTER YOU FIND OUT WHICH SHIP HE'S USING! EXCITEMENT!**

When they got home John excused himself, telling Alexander he had some work to get done. Alex nodded and went up to his room, finally allowing himself to do what he’d been waiting to; Read the fanfiction about himself and John. He typed in Loco Parentis. Since Chicago the 86 fanfiction results had risen to 134 results. He refined them by ship and clicked on one that had _John/Alexander, Peggy/Lafayette, Ace!Angelica_ as it’s tags since it sounded the most accurate to reality.

He found himself thoroughly enjoying the story though he didn’t relate much to himself and John wasn’t exactly accurately portrayed but the writer got Peggy, Lafayette and Angelica absolutely perfect. He moved on to another which he found more accurate but it seemed to talk him up and didn't do John justice as a person. He kept moving through them until he’d read enough and he couldn’t take it anymore. These fanfics were nice and certainly boosted his confidence but since they were full of inaccuracies they didn’t satisfy Alex. With quotes and lines from fanfiction circling his mind, he decided to go downstairs and make a coffee. He could hear John shuffling around in the kitchen as he walked down.

He made his way in as John moved about cooking something. He didn’t see Alex as he spun around to grab a spice and knocked him over. He quickly managed to wrap an arm around the green haired man before he could fall though and Alex felt his heart pounding loudly in his chest. _It's like the Hogwarts fanfic where John knocked me off the broom during a quiddich match and then managed to catch me because he couldn't stand to see me fall even if it meant he lost the snitch._ They both held each other’s gaze for a moment too long before John apologised and made some cheesy comment about Alex falling for him which made Alex blush.

Alex moved to stand up straighter and mumbled a thank you before going over to make coffee. With Alex in the kitchen, John’s rush to cook seemed to have vanished and he followed his friend to the kettle, wrapping his arms around him from behind and nuzzling his face into the crook of Alex’s neck.

“What’ve you been up to Lexi?” He whispered, Alex was blushing bright red. _John slowly moved his head to place kisses down Alex’s neck_ his mind screamed, quoting fanfiction that would never happen. He shook the thought aside.

“Reading.” He shrugged softly, the movement made John lift his head and Alex wished he hadn’t.

“What’cha reading?” John mumbled as he reached around his friend to grab a wooden spoon and the cardamom tea for his dish.

“This really cute story about Jack Skellington when he was a human. It’s like… Rise of the Guardians where Jack is the guardian of the Halloween holiday and so he was a human before and-“

“Alexander you’re rambling.” John said calmly, pouring some water into a mug with the tea and making his way back to the stove.

“Sorry…”

“Sounds interesting though so don't be sorry, I might have to read it.” John smiled as he stirred his concoction, adding in cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg and stirring the tea.

“What’cha making?” Alex returned the question as he finished making his drink.

“A spiced pumpkin panna cotta over here.” He said indicating to the part of the bench he was currently at, “A fish quesadilla over there and a lamb salad over there.”  He said pointing to his other work stations. Alex nodded and sipped at his drink, it sounded amazing.

“Yum. Is that all dinner?” He asked, John nodded happily, then quickly pulled a pot off the heat before the contents bubbled over.

“I just hope it turns out tasty.” He mumbled, “Could end up like that chocolate steak…” He grumbled.

“Well you can’t be successful all the time dear Laurens.” Alexander chimed and John nodded returning to his work. Alex made his way back upstairs, his mind was absolutely racing. He thought that reading the fanfiction would satisfy his feelings for John and make the situation easier on himself but instead they only heightened those feelings and made being in an unrequited love situation with his friend more suffocating. Being in the same room as John made him feel dizzy and he was so scared he’d screw up somehow.

He returned to his computer and looked at the three tabs open;

_Post new,_

_John/Alexander,_

_Unrequited fanfiction by LAMS._

His thoughts swirled in his mind as the three connected.

_Post new John and Alex fanfiction yourself._

Alex was in too deep now, how could writing it make the feelings any worse? He sighed and opened up a word document to begin writing:

Alexander sighed, he decided to just start writing and he’d fill it with fake facts so that there was no links to himself being the writer. He had to get things that the public wouldn’t know wrong.

_Youtuber AU? Alexander Hamilton was a nobody, he had no family, no friends, no job and John Laurens was famous. A famous youtuber chef to be exact. The one thing Alex loved more than anything was watching John cook. He listened to every word and measurement even though he knew he would never be recreating those dishes._

_College AU? The small boy took a seat and begun writing about his surroundings; neat room, two beds on opposite ends with two desks in between. He could survive college in a room like this. He just hoped his roommate would be nice._

_ITH AU? John Laurens worked in a small bodega en Washington heights with his cousin Hercules. He had dreams and ambitions but couldn’t make them happen with the money the small business paid. Then Alexander Hamilton walked into his life like a hurricane, John saw him as a delinquent. The bruised knuckles and paint stains on his fingers and clothes suggested vandalism and John swore he’d seen a photo of Hamilton from Hercules; a warning to watch out for him in case he tried to loot the store. Herc told John to stay away from Alexander and he called the small man a “punk” and yet John was drawn to him._

Alexander groaned. None of them felt… right. So he tried just underlining what in those stories was truth and trying again to write the actual truth.

_The truth, non-AU? His freckles were the first thing Alexander Hamilton noticed when the curly haired male mumbled an apology for knocking his drink off the bar accidentally and offering to buy a new one. His gentle voice was the second thing and his eyes, oh god his eyes… They were the third. Alexander was a writer and he’d seen too many stories about John and whilst John in the stories was simply cute. John in real life was intoxicating. _

Alexander sighed and stopped. This was harder than he thought. He highlighted the last line of his non AU prompt attempt because it resonated in him as the main truth that he was trying to achieve. He wanted to write a story that sobered him up from the inebriation of being around John. He needed an intoxicating character to match the real one, not just a cute one that would make things worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **feedback is always welcome, I think I deserve you guys shouting at me for taking so long but please don't, I am so so so so so so so so so so sorry.  
>  Love you all for putting up with me  
> If you're new here, HI Welcome! I love having you here!  
> If you're old here, YAY, You're back, I love having you here too!  
> If you live on pluto, How do you feel about losing planetary status?  
> If you like marshmallows, what colour is the number 4?  
> If you want me to keep writing this kind of trash at the bottom of my chapters let me know with a comment <3 ******


	16. Movie night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys so this has been a rollercoaster of days for me recently and I'm sorry this has taken so long  
> To make it up to you all there's a little treat at the end.
> 
> Also in doing research into asexualnessness for Angie's character I might have realised that I myself am probably Asexual, or demisexual? I cant tell since I've never dated before but ayy  
> Yay discovery
> 
> Anyway I'm working on something **BIG** for you guys, like seriously big. That's why updates are taking their sweet time right now  
>  And also because life is hectic  
> But you know what I mean

Alexander didn’t have time to further ponder his decision to write fanfiction about himself and John, John had organised a group dinner for all their friends since they hadn’t all had time to get together in a while. Thomas was the first to arrive and he and Alex quickly got into a heated discussion about whether Ivy or the Joker would win custody over Harley if it came to that in a legal court battle.

“Thomas you don’t get it! Just because we’d both like Harley to leave the Joker doesn’t mean she’s going to!”

“But Ivy could seduce the judge!”

“Batman would take the opportunity to lock all three of them up.” John said, ending the argument. “They’d end up in separate cells in Arkham and it wouldn’t matter who they decided because Harley would be in a cell alone.”

“John! Good to see you again!” Thomas grinned, “How did you go on that Shakespeare essay?”

“I got a HD so I’m happy. You?”

“Same!” Thomas grinned, “I don’t understand how you manage to run a business and have time to study and get good grades at university…”

“If Elle Woods can plan a wedding and pass a law all in a few weeks I can do this!” John grinned, Alexander laughed.

“Laurens, you’re not blonde.”

“Doesn’t matter. I have freckles.” John shrugged. Thomas stared at the two of them in confusion.

“Huh?”

“You have seen legally blonde before right Thomas?” John frowned, Jefferson shook his head.

“I’m not a huge fan of chick flicks.”

“We’re watching Legally Blonde tonight then! Thomas you'll love it! She's so like you.” Alex beamed. Then walked off as the doorbell rung. Lafayette and Peggy stepped inside and Laf whacked Alex’s arm lightly, “The hell was that for?”

“John told me that you’re the one who jammed the door shut and frightened ma chérie.”

“It was for the greater good! You two should be thanking me!” Alex laughed.

“Just watch we don’t get you back for it with John.” Peggy warned.

“Ah no. You two were bound to get together because you love each other!” Alex protested, “Doesn’t work when the feelings are unrequited.”

“Sure Alex.” Peggy rolled her eyes and walked into the room John and Thomas were in. Laf followed and Alexander sighed shakily, walking after the couple. He was mentally counting the names of people who had figured out his crush on John; Maria, Peggy, Lafayette, Eliza, Angelica. Only Thomas, John and Herc were unaware. Actually… Angelica had probably told Herc and Laf probably had told Thomas. So… Everyone except John.

He was going to be in a room full of friends determined to embarrass him tonight. Suddenly he felt uneasy. He didn’t realise that uneasiness had become physical until he felt a strong pair of arms around his waist and the worried voice of John asking him if he was okay.

“Hm? Yeah. Fine. Lost in thought… Why?” He asked vaguely, looking around to find worry etched onto his friends faces.

“Because your legs just gave out Alexander.” John frowned, worry laced his voice and he was not loosening his grip. Alex realised now that John was bent over him clearly in a rushed attempt to catch him and that he indeed wasn’t putting any weight on his legs. He sighed and tried to stand only to have John put him down on the couch and tell him not to move.

The rest of their friends arrived shortly after and to Alex’s relief, Aaron and James walked in. He had forgotten they were coming and it was a relief for some reason to know that not everyone here knew about his little crush. Not to mention with two new couples in the room rather than just Peggy and Lafayette, it would be very easy to swing the attention to another couple if Alex felt like he was in too deep with a conversation.

“Dinner is ready guys, come get it – Alexander stay seated I’ll serve you.” John called from the kitchen. He didn’t bother asking what his green haired friend wanted, he knew him well enough and he was soon seated beside him on the couch, handing him dinner.

“So… Aaron and James? Didn’t see that coming” Hercules piped up.

“And yet here we are.” Aaron shrugged.

“Didn’t see it coming? A blind man on the other side of the world could have seen that coming!” John protested.

“Well we can’t all be Sherlock Holmes John…” Peggy giggled. Maria nearly choked on her dinner with that comment and Eliza looked at the two in concern as John’s face heated up.

“I _wish_ I was Sherlock Holmes! I’d have an adorable boyfriend who writes about me all the time!” Alex heated up at that comment and Maria laughed even more.

“I think I’d rather you be John Laurens, not Sherlock.” Alex grumbled, Maria and Peggy exchanged glances.

“There’s probably already someone online writing fanfiction about you and them John.” Jefferson noted wincing as he watched Maria sit up straighter and smirk and realising something he had said had sparked something evil in her mind.

 “Yeah! Someone obsessed with you who probably stays up till three in the morning just writing kinky sex scenes where they’re obviously a lot shorter than you so you can –“

“Maria!” John groaned, hiding his face in his hands. Alex just stared at her in shock with his mouth wide open. Knowing exactly who she was describing.

“Ew…” Angelica muttered, rolling her eyes. Eliza nudged her playfully.

“Don’t you think that’s kinda creepy?” Hercules asked.

“Nah most fanfictions ship us all together. Theres a lot of me and Laf… A surprising amount of Angelica and Hercules and a lot about John wit–“ Peggy begun

“Oh my god seriously? People are writing about you?” Aaron gasped, cutting her off,

“Like… sex?” Thomas added curiously.

“Shut up or I’ll hire you Thomas and you’ll be part of it too. I’ll drop hints about you and Herc in interviews so that people ship it.” John said to him. It would have sounded stern had the grin on his face not given him away.

“You are positively evil John Laurens.” Thomas laughed.

“And yet surprisingly loveable.” John responded, Alex laughed. “You disagree Hamilton?” John grumbled.

“With Jefferson sure.” Alex shrugged, “but I mean who wouldn’t love someone who can cook this well?” He asked, there was a hum from the group of approval.

“Is that all I’m good to you for? Food?” John asked dramatically, Alex laughed.

“Totally.” He teased. They ate for a while and then John got up and sorted out Legally Blonde. Alex and John spent the rest of the night watching Thomas stare in awe at the show because it was law, politics and fashion. Alexander was right, he did relate to Elle.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I've had a few comments seemingly unsure with my gender or whatever and I thought I'd clear it up for you. I'm a girl but hey, you can use things like dude and bro, it wont offend me :) I'm pretty relaxed about that kind of thing
> 
> PLEASE LEAVE YOUR COMMENTS I REPLY TO ALL OF THEM
> 
> **Okay and now for the treat I promised:**  
>  guys so I don't like crossing or linking my social media up together hence why I don't tell y'all to follow me on insta or anything. It's a different audience, different genre type situation and my insta is very much personal whereas no one here even knows my name  
> But I posted a photo there of the Cheshire Cat drink (YES I MADE IT AND IT TASTES AMAZE) So if you find it please be respectful and not create a link between the fic and the insta account :) 
> 
>   **But I want to give you lovelies my recipe for it!**  
>  If you want me to keep coming up with recipes at the ends of chapters, let me know!
> 
> You need:  
> Jasmine tea (I used Dragon Pearls bc it's my favourite)  
> Half a cup of blueberries (frozen is fine)  
> Milk  
> Sugar  
> A kettle  
> A blender or stick mixer  
> A sieve  
> A nice glass to serve it in
> 
> Boil the kettle and pour it into a mug, add a little cold water so it's not going to burn the leaves but only half fill the mug with water (optimal temp for jasmine tea is about 80 degrees Celsius.)  
> Put a tablespoon of tea leaves into a glass or mug (I'd recommend loose leaf over tea bags because that's my preference.)  
> Get about three teaspoons of sugar and put that in a separate container (I used an egg cup) and pour just enough hot water over it to start getting it to dissolve.  
> Set it aside and put your blueberries and a decent splash of milk in a blender and blend that shit up  
> Use the sieve to pour your brewed tea into the blueberry mix without getting the leaves in it  
> Pour in your sugar water  
> Do a quick blend again just to mix it all up  
> Pour it into a serving glass and add a dash of milk to the top and stir it in gently with a spoon to create a swirl. If you want to be extra fancy, tip the tea leaves out of the sieve and strain the whole drink (It gets rid of the little bits of blueberry that haven't become liquid) then do the swirl of milk  
> Drink up!


	17. non chap sorry letter

Hi everyone who reads this  
  
I'm so sorry that it's been so long without a chapter  
I'm so sorry this is not a chapter  
  
My life is hectic right now and I'm trying my best to stay on top of everything. I've taken on a full time position at work and I'm trying to adjust to living out of three different homes. Beyond that I've got friends who are going through difficult times and need me to be there for them. They mean the world to me and so I'm sure you'll understand they take priority  
  
I'll get back to writing as soon as possible. I promise you all that.

But right now I've got so much to do and there's just not enough time in each day to get what I need to get done in a day.

 

I won't call this break hiatus, I'm trying to write whenever I get a free moment. But I didn't think it fair to leave questions unanswered and you all have been so supportive of my work that it's not fair to just ignore you

 

When I write, I pour my heart and soul into each word. I fill the chapters with words I would want to read and I edit and work very hard to a very high standard. When life gets in the way, I lose time and If I try to write here and there, the words lose the heart. They lose the focus and it's not fair on you all.

 

This work I promise will be finished.  
I promise you all that my stories haven't been forgotten

I'm doing the best I can and I'm so grateful that you all enjoy reading something that I pour my heart and soul into.

 

Thanks for caring :)

-EuphorianDystopia


	18. How does a bastard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, Thank you so very much for all your thoughtful messages! I promise to respond to each and every one when I get the time. This isn't a long chapter but this is the big reveal of the fanfiction Alexander is writing. It's all coming together now. 
> 
> My work schedule is hectic as and so uploads will be slow to come but I really am trying to get back into the swing of things. 
> 
> You guys are so sweet with all your thoughtful messages, you made me cry! I'm so happy to have an audience like you who are so faithful to stick around and who love my writing enough to wait for it. Honestly you're all the best ever.

Alexander was at his desk.

He stared at the open document in front of him. He’d turfed all his prompts and he was struggling to come up with anything. His head was reeling as he read over the only words currently on the page

_How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence, impoverished, in squalor, end up with a guy like John Laurens?_

He sighed, reading it again and again. He hit shuffle on his music and the opening song for the musical _Miranda_ that he’d seen with John started playing. He wished he could write like Larson wrote because the musical was so amazing and he and John adored it so much. Then it hit him like a ton of bricks.

Miranda AU.

He plotted out the story on the page in front of him:

_Act 1 (the war): Lin, a Puerto Rican determined to make his place in the world meets Leslie, a young upstart in the same position as Lin, with the same goals but from a wealthy family. They become friends and as Leslie breezes through studies, Lin works hard to afford his education and maintain his grades. Lin then meets Daveed, Justin and Oak and befriends them all before joining the war. He meets beautiful Vanessa and marries her. The war progresses and is eventually won but Justin is killed post victory._

_Act 2 (the politics): Seth comes in and everything goes to hell for Lin. Arguments ensue and Lin ends up cheating on Vanessa with a woman named Nina, partially due to the stress. Nina’s husband Benny demands money to keep the affair secret but the money leads to some wrong assumptions and Lin is approached by Seth and Leslie about embezzlement. He comes clean about the affair and Vanessa is heartbroken. His son goes into a duel to defend his father’s honour and is killed. Vanessa forgives Lin and takes him back. His decision to vote for Seth over Leslie results in his death._

Alexander grinned. NOW he was on to something. He titled the work ‘Hamilton’ and stared at the first two lines on his page again.

_How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence, impoverished, in squalor, end up with a guy like John Laurens?_

There was his story summary. He set to work writing his story and once he got started, he didn’t stop. He knew he had to put aside his insecurities, if he was comparing himself to someone as awesome as Lin Manuel Miranda, he HAD to get it right.

_How does a bastard, orphan, son of a whore and a Scotsman dropped in the middle of a forgotten spot in the Caribbean by providence, impoverished, in squalor, grow up to be a hero and a scholar?_

_…_

_Well the word got around they said this kid is insane man_.

…

_There’s a million things I haven’t done, but just you wait, just you wait._

_…_

_Alex you gotta fend for yourself_

_…_

_In New York you can be a new man._

_…_

_The world will never be the same_

_…_

_What’s your name man? Alexander Hamilton._

He smiled and hit save. 539 words. A good start for an opening chapter. He titled the first chapter ‘Alexander Hamilton’, tagged his work excessively and then after triple checking for spelling mistakes, he hit post.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I know this chapter is short and unedited but I really wanted to get it out and just give you guys SOMETHING since you've all been so freaking incredible and patient with me
> 
> Love you all!


End file.
